The Chinese Government's Friendship Award (simplified Chinese: 中国政府友谊奖; traditional Chinese: 中國政府友誼獎; pinyin: Zhōngguó Zhèngfǔ Yǒuyì Jiǎng; lit. 'Chinese Government's Friendship Award') is the People's Republic of China's highest award for "foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the country's economic and social progress". The award was first established in 1950s, when it was awarded to experts from the former Soviet Union and East European countries by the then premier Zhou Enlai and the foreign minister Chen Yi. On September 15, 1955, the Chinese government decreed that each departing Soviet expert be issued a medal. This medal featured the flags of China and the Soviet Union along with the inscription "Long live the Sino-Soviet Friendship" (Chinese: 中苏友谊万岁; pinyin: Z