On the morning of July 8, the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, the Conference of Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 11th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology were held grandly at the Great Hall of the People. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the PRC, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, presented awards to the winners of the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award and others, and delivered an important speech. The "Key Technologies and Applications of High-Performance Diesel Engines" project, led by Weichai in collaboration with Tianjin University, Sino-Platinum Metals Catalyst, Shandong University, and other units, and relying on national-level scientific research platforms such as the National Key Laboratory of Internal Combustion Engine and Power System, was honored with the Second Prize of the State Science and Technology Progress Award.
As core equipment for the global power industry, diesel engines have long faced the technical bottleneck of the difficulty in simultaneously improving the three key performance metrics: reliability, thermal efficiency, and emissions. Addressing industry pain points and national strategic requirements, Weichai assembled multidisciplinary teams and spent over a decade on dedicated research, successfully breaking through three critical technologies—high reliability and long service life, high thermal efficiency, and ultra-low-emission aftertreatment—to develop a new-generation series of high-performance diesel engines with fully independent intellectual property rights. The core indicators of these products fully surpass those of international peer products, further widening their global competitive advantage, significantly enhancing the global discourse power of China's internal combustion engine industry, and driving the nation's vehicle and equipment manufacturing industry toward world-class standards.
The State Science and Technology Progress Award is one of the highest honors in China's science and technology sector. As a leader in China's power equipment industry, Weichai continuously focuses on core internal combustion engine technologies. To date, it has received 10 national science and technology awards, including one first prize and seven second prizes, establishing itself as a backbone force supporting the transformation, upgrading, and high-quality development of China's internal combustion engine industry.