Laying the Foundation Stone for China's First Electron-Positron Collider

On October 7, 1984, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the first Chinese Electron-Positron Collider in the west suburb of Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping and other top Chinese leaders participating. As soon as he got off the car, Deng Xiaoping shook hands with the famous Chinese-American physicist Tsung-Dao Lee and said,“I must thank you for your participation and support. I hope you will continue to help us build the Electron-Positron Collider.”On October 16, 1988, China's first electron-positron collisions took place at the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider. Following the successful explosion of atomic and hydrogen bombs as well as the launching of satellites, this was yet another ma-jor breakthrough for China in its development of high technology, which truly established the country's position in the international community of high-energy physics. On October 24,1988, when Deng Xiaoping came back once more to the site where four years ago he had laid the foundation stone, he delivered an important speech, declaring that,“It has always been, and will always be, necessary for China to develop its own high technology so that it can take its place in this field.”

邓小平与美籍华裔物理学家李政道（左一）亲切握手。（左三为杨尚昆，左四为李鹏，右一为周光召）

Deng Xiaoping warmly shaking hands with Chinese-American physicist Tsung-Dao Lee (first from left). (third from left, Yang Shangkun;fourth from left, Li Peng;first from right, Zhou Guangzhao)