Shiing-Shen Chern
After a decade of talks, China was finally admitted into the World Trade Organization in 2001. The same year saw the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. In August 2002, due to the efforts of the renowned mathematician Shiing-Shen Chern, the quadrennial International Congress of Mathematicians was held in Beijing — the first time in a developing country, with Chern being the honorary president of the Congress and Wu Wenjun being the president.