The 10th International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians (ICCM) now underway in Shanghai conferred the esteemed Gold Medals to three mathematicians for landmark achievements on Saturday at its opening ceremony.
At the ceremony, the ICCM Gold Medals of Mathematics, often referred to as the "Chinese Fields Medal," were presented to Deng Yu, a professor at the University of Chicago, and his team for solving the Special Hilbert's Sixth Problem; Wang Hong, a professor at New York University's Courant Institute, for proving the 3D Kakeya Conjecture; and Yuan Xinyi, a professor at Beijing University, for his deep contributions to number theory and geometry.
The event also presented Silver Medals, the Chern Prize, and the International Cooperation Award.
To further encourage innovation, the congress introduced new awards this year: the Hua, Lin, and Yang Prizes. The Best Paper Award was also granted to recognize research distinguished by its originality and impact.
"All the award winners this time are world-class scholars with top-tier publications. It is our hope that we continue to strive for excellence and collaborate with one another—which is exactly the core spirit of the International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians: helping each other and mutual cooperation to elevate Chinese mathematics to world-class standards," said ICCM President Shing-Tung Yau, at the press briefing.
Founded in 1998 by Yau, the triennial ICCM is the premier global forum for Chinese mathematicians. This year's event, running from January 2 to 8, features over 300 academic reports spanning pure mathematics, applied fields like AI, and biomedicine.
By gathering thousands of scholars and honoring foundational work alongside emerging talent, the ICCM highlights the vibrancy and collaborative strength of the global Chinese mathematics community.
International Chinese Mathematicians Congress awards talents
As the diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran continues despite a faltering ceasefire, a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that Iran is prepared to use military power to break the U.S. maritime blockade should the negotiations collapse or run on too long.
Mohsen Rezaee, who also currently serves as a member of the Iranian Expediency Discernment Council, struck a confident tone about Iran's current trajectory in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Tehran on Wednesday.
He said the country has withstood over two decades of crippling sanctions and continued to move forward.
"We have been under sanctions for more than 20 years. The number of sanctions likely exceeds 2,000, targeting individuals, enterprises, corporations, ships, insurance companies, and even foreign countries that interacted with us. However, we have managed to find solutions to neutralize these sanctions, and we will continue to do so moving forward," he said.
He said Iran aims to ease the sanctions burden through talks with the U.S., although at the same time, he said, Iran is ready to shift to a military response if the path to a peaceful resolution closes.
"Furthermore, we will compel the U.S. to lift these sanctions. We will force the U.S. to end the maritime blockade -- either through negotiations or, should they resist, through direct action and we will attack U.S. warships. Therefore, despite all the pressures, the future of our economy is bright and promising, while the future of the US economy is bleak," he said.
While any new war against Iran would be a dead end, the best way out for the U.S. is to continue talks, according to the senior official.
"We have prepared ourselves so that if the maritime blockade continues beyond a certain timeframe, we will launch an attack and break the blockade. The Americans have no choice but to negotiate. Continuing this war is a journey into a very dark tunnel for the United States. The more America chooses to fight, the deeper it enters a tunnel with no end. Yet for us, the path is perfectly clear. America is moving toward us in the dark, while we are monitoring their every move," he said.
Former IRGC chief says Iran ready to break U.S. naval blockade by force if talks fail
