China’s Ministry of Education and Mr. Li Ka-shing jointly established the Cheung Kong Scholars Program. Its main objective is to further improve China’s standard of education and intellectual competitiveness through the training of the country's best and brightest young minds.

During the first phase of the program, Mr. Li and the Ministry of Education joined hands to establish 300 to 500 professorships by special appointment at higher education institutions within three to five years. The application and selection process takes place twice a year. The professors receive a special stipend in addition to the regular benefits package offered by the university in accordance with state guidelines.

Professors who achieve outstanding academic distinction or make a commendable contribution have a chance to win the annual Cheung Kong Achievement Award, a grand prize of approximately RMB 1 million (US$138,000). In addition to mainland China, the award has expanded to include tertiary institutions in Hong Kong and Macau since 2005, and also research institutions under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Programme was changed from an integrated rating system to a specialised award system in 2007.  First prizes of RMB 1 million each are awarded to the winners of their disciplines that include Environmental Sciences, Information Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and Life Sciences. Tertiary institutions can recommend candidates directly to the Ministry of Education, while mainland research bodies can make recommendations through the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Since the program's inception in August 1998, over 900 professors and 400 lecturers have been appointed and five distinguished professors have won the Cheung Kong Achievement Award.
The first Cheung Kong Achievement Awards went to Mr. Chen Zhu of the Shanghai Second Medical University, and Professor Xia Jiahui and his team at the Hunan Medical University. Dr. Shu Degan of Northwest University won the second year's honours. The third year winners were Dr. Zhang Weiping, a professor at the Nankai Institute of Mathematics, and Professor Li Xiaowen, who is best known for his work on remote sensing research. In 2005, Professor Li Ning of the China Agricultural University took first prize, with the second prizes going to Professor Joseph J.Y. Sung of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, investigator Li Jia Yang of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Cao Xue Tao of the Second Military Medical University. Zhang Yaping, Director of the Kuming Institute of Zoology, CAS, and Professor Di Wanming of Southwest Jiatong University received the first prize in 2006, and Professor Dennis Lo, who is also a Li Ka Shing Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Professor Fang Jingyun of Peking University received second prizes.  In 2007, three renowned scholars were awarded Cheung Kong Achievement Awards – Professor Chan Hsiao-chang from the Department of Physiology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong was given the “Life Science Award”; Professor Ma Jun from the Municipal and Environmental Engineering Department of the Harbin University was given the “Engineering Science Award”; and Dr Jiang Guibin, Director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences was granted the “Environmental Sciences Award”.

It is hoped that the program can enhance China's academic competitiveness and attract overseas scholars to China. The program will also promote the reform of China's current exclusivity and lifetime employment system in tertiary institutions.