The Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions held the Congress of Xinjiang Science and Technology Progress Award in 2009 on December 27, 2009. The gainers and their achievements of Top-grade Award of Science and Technology Progress during the period of 2008-2009 were commented on the congress. Professor Chen Xi, the director of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, obtained the Top-grade Award of Xinjiang Science and Technology Progress for his prominence contribution in the research fields of water resource security and ecological security in arid land, and the researches of key technologies and theory for national safety decision-making and management. Prof. Chen Xi is the third scholar of the Institute who obtained this top-grade award. In the congress one first-grade award, four second-grade awards and one third-grade award were gained by the Institute.

In the ceremony, Prof. Chen Xi, as a representative of all gainers, had a speech. First of all, he expressed the appreciation to the Communist Party and Government for the great support to the science and technology researches of Xinjiang. Then, he recalled those scientists who worked for the enterprise of the science and technology in the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography in the past several decades accomplished lots of prominent achievements in very difficult situation. Finally, Prof. Chen Xi expressed that he would devote the rest of his life to the development of science and technology and continue to work together with other scientists of various nationalities in Xinjiang.

In recent ten years, the numbers of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography to obtain the top-grade award account for 30% of the total numbers. Since the National Science and Technology Award Regulation is promulgated in 1999, the Institute had obtained 6 second-grade awards of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, 3 top-grade awards, one special contribution award, 11 first-class awards, 29 second-grade awards and 15 third-grade awards of the Xinjiang Science and Technology Progress. As a national research institute, the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography plays an important role to the economic development, science and technology progress in Xinjiang.