Mr. John A. Thain, CEO of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), visited Tsinghua and delivered a speech in School of Economics and Management October 20.

Tsinghua President Gu Binglin had a talk with Mr. Thain prior to the speech. During the talk, President Gu gave an outline of the university's educational and cultural activities.

During his speech, Mr. Thain discussed the future of China's markets.“China's economy is moving to center stage in Asia, and is rapidly becoming a major player on the world stage,”said Mr. Thain. He also talked about the challenges facing China's market.

Mr. Thain received an MBA from Harvard University in 1979 and a B.S. degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977. He has been chief executive officer of the New York Stock Exchange since January 15, 2004.