On April 19, 2019, Mansfield Chair Professor BAI Chong-En, Dean of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management (Tsinghua SEM), met with students from the Tsinghua Global MBA Program Class of 2019 and 2020, sharing his perspective on the future of the Chinese economy and addressing student perspectives.

Dean BAI spoke about China's economic development over the four decades of reform and opening-up. As a catch-up economy, China has benefited from other countries who developed earlier, including Japan and Korea. This benefit includes both the correct policies and the pitfalls to avoid. The drop in GDP growth from approximately 10% to 2019 Q1's 6.4% marks China's move towards the leading edge of economic development. As an economy driven by innovation and entrepreneurship, the US clocks in at just under 3%, a figure that China will reach some time in the future. According to Dean BAI, the most optimistic scenario - where all targets are met on time - involves China becoming the largest economy in the world and reaching 3% growth in 2050, with wages at 53% of US wages in 2050, up from 1/6 in 2019.

Education is a major challenge moving into the future, said Dean BAI. College entry based on college entrance examination incentivizes students to focus on testing, which torques the educational system. Here at the Tsinghua SEM, the first two years of undergraduate education are essentially liberal arts education, with built-in flexibility to explore and learn.

Dean BAI also emphasizes that Tsinghua's Global MBA Program enjoys industry leading advantages, leveraging cooperation with universities such as MIT and Stanford. Firstly, the Advisory Board member companies of Tsinghua SEM provide support through education and talent development to an unprecedented degree. Secondly, Tsinghua's world-class engineering resources interface with Tsinghua SEM, bringing technological insights. Thirdly, Zhongguancun in Beijing, China’s Silicon Valley is alive with innovation and entrepreneurship, providing an environment for Tsinghua MBA students to conduct business development. Compared to the distance between Stanford and Silicon Valley, Tsinghua is located right next to the cradle of entrepreneurship and innovation. Fourthly, Tsinghua MBA students enjoy more opportunities of working in an emerging market than developed markets.

They also discussed in-depth about curriculum design, career development and school development and other aspects.

Group photo