The 59th Mendeleev International Chemistry Olympiad for high School Students was held from May 5th to May 13th at the Federal University of Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais in Brazil. More than 400 students and mentors from 40 countries and regions participated. At the organisers' invitation, the College of Chemistry at Nankai University dispatched a team of teachers to lead Chinese participants in this competition.

This competition has two theoretical exams and one experimental exam. After intense competition, a total of 19 gold medals, 38 silver medals, and 56 bronze medals were produced. Chinese participants achieved excellent results of 3 gold and 3 silver medals. Among them, Zhao Yaoxi ranked first in overall and theoretical scores, while Wan Xuantong ranked third in overall score.

Professor He Zhengjie from the College of Chemistry at Nankai University led the team to participate in the competition, collaborating with chemistry competition coaches from Sichuan and Tianjin to complete the translation of competition questions and score review. Li Jing and Wu Haocheng served as scientific observers, responsible for liaison, communication, and other matters. This paved the way for Team China to successfully complete the competition.

During the competition, at the invitation of Professor Arilza Porto, Dean of the School of Chemistry at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Nankai Chemical staff had an exchange and discussion with her on international cooperation and exchange. 

It is reported that the Mendeleev International Chemistry Olympiad (IMChO) for high school students was founded in 1967 and has been successfully held for 59 sessions. It is one of the highest-level science and technology competitions for young people in the world and has a high international reputation.