Nobel Prize for China within 25 years

CHINESE scientists will be winning Nobel Prizes within 20 to 25 years, Nobel Prize Committee members predicted yesterday.

The prediction came after a four-person Swedish delegation for science awards, including three members of the Nobel Prize Committee panel, visited Fudan University and talked to students yesterday.

When asked "why it is so hard for Chinese people to win a Nobel Prize?" Borje Johansson, a member of the Nobel Prize Committee for Physics, said that a country should look back at its development over the decades.

"It takes time to make achievements. Normally research will take 20 years," said Johansson, who is also member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. "You should look, wait and see how China fares in 20 years."

With China's development in full swing in recent years, Johansson said that he was convinced that Chinese people would be able to win the world's top scientific award within 20 to 25 years.

Yesterday's visit to Fudan is the second leg of the group's China trip, the second time Nobel Prize Committee members have come to China.

In their speeches, the Swedish scientists looked back over the century-long history of the Nobel Prize and analyzed prize winning countries and laureates.

Sven Lidin, the dean of the Stockholm University's chemistry school and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said Nobel Prizes in chemistry were dominated by American researchers after World War II.

But other countries such as Japan and Israel were rising on the list.

"That's because many countries came to realize it was a good idea to get these people back home, build a good environment and let them do something like they were doing in the United States," Lidin said.