Peking University, September 25, 2025: The 8th UK/China Friendship and Understanding Thesis Competition awards ceremony took place at King’s College London on September 20, 2025, after a year-long essay selection and evaluation process across multiple British secondary schools. It was organized by the Society for Anglo-China Understanding (SACU) and the China Center for Edgar Snow Studies at Peking University.
Awardees at the ceremony (Photo by Xing Yi, London journalist for China Daily)
Over 100 SACU members, award-winning students, parents, and teacher representatives attended the ceremony, which featured addresses by Wang Qi, Chargé d'Affaires at the Chinese Embassy in the UK; Lu Xiangdong, Vice President of the People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; Michael Wood, SACU President; and Honorary Chair Zoe Reed.
Wang Qi, Chargé d'Affaires at the Chinese Embassy in the UK, addresses the conference (Photo by Xing Yi, London journalist for China Daily)
Following the award ceremony, a symposium commemorating the 110th anniversary of George Hogg's birth was held. A British adventurer, Mr. Hogg had enthusiastically helped with China’s fight against Japanese aggression. His book, I See a New China, presents in detail the Chinese Communist Party’s guerrilla warfare against the Japanese.
The event featured a screening of CGTN's documentary “Witness to the Flames: A British Journalist's Journey Through China.” It also featured a roundtable discussion titled “60 Years of Sino-British Mutual Understanding.”
Lu Xiangdong, Vice President of People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, addresses the conference (Photo by Xing Yi, London journalist for China Daily)
The China Center for Edgar Snow Studies at Peking University has established a long-standing cooperative relationship with SACU. To date, dozens of British secondary schools have participated in the essay contest, with many students going on to pursue further studies on China-related topics at prestigious institutions.
To further deepen cooperation in research, Peking University's China Center for Edgar Snow Studies launched the collaborative research project “What's Past Is Prologue—China-UK People to People Exchange Research Project” with SACU in 2020. This initiative involves organizing and cataloging extensive archives, audiovisual materials, books, and artifacts documenting Sino-British cultural exchanges accumulated over the 60-year history of SACU.
Written by: Phoon Hui Yin, Andrena
Edited by: Chen Shizhuo
Source: China Center for Edgar Snow Studies, Peking University
