Wang said he was honored and encouraged to have received the award, and felt fortunate and proud to have contributed to the nation's nuclear cause.

He said a keen realization from his lifelong research is that daring to think and act and tackle areas that no one has tried before is a must for independent innovation.

He attributed the success of project, the world's first fourth-generation high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactor, to the persistence of researchers who conducted long hours of lonely research.

Gao Wen, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a computer scientist, said it was an emotional moment for him to receive words of congratulation from Xi at the ceremony.

Gao's team won the first prize of the State Technological Invention Award for a coding technology that enabled the transmission of high-definition video.

"It is blessing for us researchers to have such unprecedented support from the top leadership and the nation. It is imperative for us to seize opportunities and take advantage of the good platforms to strive for more outcomes," he said.