(Yicai Global) Nov. 27 -- The Chinese Academy of Engineering has elected some 67 candidates as academicians this year, with Bill Gates, founder of renowned computing giant Microsoft Corp. [NASDAQ:MSFT], one of 18 foreign academicians included in the list, the academy said online today.

The election of new academicians into the Chinese Academy of Engineering began at the start of this year through nominations by existing academicians and academic groups under the China Association for Science and Technology, who selected some 533 candidates.

The first round of election assessments took place from June 4 through June 10, with 205 candidates making their way into the second round held from Oct. 30 through Nov. 3, which saw 138 contenders taken out of the running.