On January 11, 2017, the inauguration ceremony of the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies was held at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. YIN Weimin, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China, KONG Changsheng, Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China, CHEN Xu, Chairperson of University Council of Tsinghua University, and YANG Bin, Vice President of Tsinghua University, embassy officials of G20 member states, representatives from international organizations and Chinese government authorities, as well as experts, scholars and entrepreneurs attended the event.

In his speech, Minister YIN Weimin pointed out that the G20 Entrepreneurship Action Plan, which was launched at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou in 2016, has clearly proposed to establish an entrepreneurship research center on G20 economies and build a platform for exchange of experience and information about entrepreneurship and innovation, thereby deepening the communications and exchanges among the member states and supporting the implementation of the Entrepreneurship Action Plan. Employment has a vital bearing on the people’s livelihood, while entrepreneurship provides chances for employment. The Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies is supposed to strengthen policy studies and plays a proactive role in promoting sharing of entrepreneurial and innovation resources, thereby accelerating development of both entrepreneurship and innovation in China.

CHEN Xu, Chairperson of University Council of Tsinghua University, addressed the event by indicating that establishment of the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies is not only aligned with the strategic demands in China, but is also of great importance in further assisting Tsinghua University to cultivate internationalized talents concerning innovation and entrepreneurship. In this day when all major economies around the world focus their national strategies on innovation-driven development and in the era of vigorous promotion of mass entrepreneurship and innovation in China, the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies is expected to become a center that has global academic and policy influence and promotes the advance of entrepreneurship and employment with its expected outcomes.

The event was then addressed by QIAN Yingyi, Dean of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, Mr. Christophe Eick, Minister of the German Embassy in China, and Mr. Tim De Meyer, International Labor Organization Country Director for China and Mongolia, successively.

At the inauguration ceremony, Minister YIN Weimin and Party Secretary of Tsinghua University CHEN Xu unveiled the nameplate for the Entrepreneurial Research Center on G20 Economies, and Vice Minister KONG Changsheng and Vice President YANG Bin, on behalf of their respective organizations, signed a cooperation agreement.

Minister YIN Weimin (left) and Party Secretary of Tsinghua University CHEN Xu unveiled the nameplate for the Entrepreneurial Research Center on G20 Economies

The Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies is jointly established by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China and Tsinghua University with the aim to strengthening the exchanges of information among G20 members.Working closely with the International Labor Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other relevant international organizations, the Center will perform analysis and comparative study on entrepreneurship-related issues on the G20 members as well as other countries, supporting the Entrepreneurship Action Plan for G20. It will become an entrepreneurship research center that has global academic and policy influence and promotes advance of entrepreneurship and employment with its expected outcomes.