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The Chinese government granted last Wednesday its annual prestigious Marco Polo Award to Howard P. Milstein, chief of New York Private Bank & Trust and its operating bank Emigrant Bank, for his contribution to the exchange of international talents through his foundation.

China granted its prestigious Marco Polo Award to Bank chief Howard P. Milstein, for his contribution to the exchange of international talents through his foundation.[Photo by Chen Boyuan/China.org.cn]

The Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation (MMAAP Foundation) was created by Howard Milstein and his wife Abby and the Paul Milstein Family to contribute to world health by developing mutually beneficial partnerships between the United States and China, as well as the greater Asia region.

The MMAAP Foundation provides funding to geriatric medicine, dermatology, hematology, translational medicine and reproductive medicine in the form of Fellowship Awards and Research Project Awards, which aim to support medical researchers who have the potential to affect healthcare in China.

It partners with more than 20 prestigious institutions in China, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and West China Hospital.

Milstein conceived of the MMAAP Foundation after meeting with officials from the former Chinese Ministry of Health (now renamed to National Health and Family Planning Commission) to facilitate interactions between his medical philanthropic interests in the United States and leading Chinese efforts in clinical care and medical research.

Zhang Jianguo, administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA), handed over the award certificate to Milstein. He said that "Milstein truly deserved this extinguished award" for this contributions.

In his award acceptance speech, Milstein reviewed part of his family history and its relations to China's development.

"The original values passed down by my father and grandfather guide our path every day. Hard work, integrity, ethics, planning for the long-term and the commitment to help people are values, I believe, we share with the Chinese people," he said. He referred to these values as the basis to which the United States and China can continue to enhance their relations.

The Marco Polo Award was set up in the 1990s. It is the highest honor an international entrepreneur can receive from the Chinese government. Named after Marco Polo, the award praises those who have made outstanding contributions to the exchanges between China and the world in the same way that Marco Polo connected the East and the West. Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri are among the recipients of the award.

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