Bill Gates receives China's top engineering honor

US billionaire Bill Gates has been elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering, China’s highest honor in the field of engineering.

The Microsoft co-founder, 62, is one of 18 new foreign members, the academy said on Monday. He is the only one who does not work at a university or research institute.

Gates was nominated for his work at TerraPower, a nuclear reactor design company he helped establish in 2008.

In late 2015, the company signed a deal with China National Nuclear Corp to build a reactor unit in Fujian province. The project is scheduled to start next year and be completed in 2025.

The academy now has 66 foreign academicians.