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SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Fields Medal duo a triumph for Chinese education, global collaboration

Wang Hong and Deng Yu are a tribute to the multiplying benefits of education at home, learning abroad and cooperation across borders

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Fields Medallists (from left) Deng Yu, John Pardon, Jacob Tsimerman and Wang Hong pose for a group photograph at the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia on July 23, 2026. Photo: Xinhua
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
That China has talent has long been well-recognised but that two home-grown elites were awarded the Fields Medal, seen as the Nobel Prize for mathematics, proves more than that. The success of Wang Hong and Deng Yu is a tribute to the multiplying benefits of education at home, learning abroad and collaboration across borders. In a world facing complex challenges, this is exactly the kind of intellectual synergy humanity needs more of.

For the first time, China has produced two Fields laureates in a single year, becoming only the fifth country – after the United States, France, Britain and Russia – to do so.

American John Pardon and Jacob Tsimerman, a Russian-born Canadian, also won this year. The prize is awarded every four years to mathematicians under the age of 40.

The Chinese winners were shaped first by solid training in their home country before advancing through overseas education and research. It shows that strong foundations, disciplined learning and rigorous academic pursuit can create world-class talent that shines even brighter when exposed to broader intellectual traditions and international exchanges.

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