On September 30, the prestigious 2025 Chinese Government Friendship Award Ceremony was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Among the distinguished recipients was Prof. Kazuhito Nishimura, a foreign academician at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), who was honored for his exceptional contributions to China's advancement in the field of cutting-edge materials.

The Chinese Government Friendship Award stands as the highest accolade bestowed by the Chinese government upon foreign experts working within its borders, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the nation's reform and development. Since its inception in 1991, this prestigious award has been granted to 2,048 experts, including fifty in the 2025 cohort.

Prof. Kazuhito Nishimura, an esteemed figure in synthetic diamond technology and precision engineering, is a member of the Japanese Academy of Engineering. With a career spanning over three decades, Prof. Nishimura has carved out a "technical legend" in the diamond industry, particularly in the development of ultra-precision diamond cutting tools and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond coatings for high-efficiency engine sealing technologies. The cumulative funding for R&D projects led by him exceeds ten billion yen, yielding incalculable socio-economic benefits over the past twenty years. His receipt of the "Takagi Award" from the Japan Society for Precision Engineering (JSPE) on three separate occasions underscores his enduring excellence and significant contributions to the field.

Prof. Nishimura's association with Ningbo commenced in 2013. "China's innovative spirit and open-minded approach solidified my decision to make Ningbo my permanent home," remarked Prof. Nishimura. He initiated a close collaboration with NIMTE shortly thereafter. With his instrumental guidance, the research team successfully developed an independent microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) system for single-crystal diamond growth after years of dedicated research, marking the first instance of industrial-scale production of CVD single-crystal diamonds using domestically developed equipment. The team has also pioneered the preparation equipment and process for 12-inch large-area diamond growth, possessing independent intellectual property rights, and established China's inaugural CVD single-crystal diamond production line with an annual output capacity exceeding two million carats that ranks among the top three globally.

Over the past decade, Prof. Nishimura's contributions have transcended technological breakthroughs, actively fostering scientific collaboration between China and Japan while deeply engaging with China's developmental trajectory.

Now in his sixties, Prof. Nishimura remains at the vanguard of research. With the global demand for CVD diamonds on the rise, he continues to pioneer high-end applications in thermal management and optical windows.

Prof. Nishimura's narrative is emblematic of the broader trend at NIMTE—from refining service systems for international talent to constructing global platforms for scientific cooperation, NIMTE is actively embracing global expertise to forge a shared future for humanity.