Few events can attract a roster of prominent business leaders from China and around the world comparable to the Tsinghua Management Global Forum. The 2012 edition proved to be no exception. The standing-room-only audience in the Weilun Auditorium heard the participants address the major theme of the forum, "New Trends in the World Economy and Transnational Management."

The annual event was launched in 2007 and is held every October in conjunction with the school’s annual Advisory Board meeting. This year’s version opened with remarks from Tsinghua SEM Dean QIAN Yingyi, followed by a speech by Tsinghua President CHEN Jining.

“The Tsinghua Management Global Forum has become an important platform where global elites in business and academia and senior government officials communicate and interact with Tsinghua faculty, students and alumni,” said President CHEN, who is also the newly appointed Vice Chairman of the Advisory Board. “The forum has had extensive and profound impact both on and off campus and at home and abroad.”

Following President CHEN’s speech came the keynote address by Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group. Schwarzman addressed a variety of the most relevant and important issues in the world today, including the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the Euro debt crisis and the slowdown of the Chinese economy. In terms of the Chinese economy, he is not concerned about China’s long-term prospects.

“My intuition tells me that the Chinese economy will be strong like before,” Schwarzman said. “The Chinese economy is very adaptable. I don’t think the decline in growth will continue for a long time. A decline is not consistent with China’s culture and structure.”

Following his speech, Schwarzman took questions from the audience, including those regarding the private equity industry both in China and globally. The forum then moved into panel discussions. The first panel’s theme was, “New Growth Engines for the World Economy” and was moderated by HU Shuli, Editor-in-Chief, Caixin media. The panelists were Sir John Bond, Chairman, Xstrata PLC, Former Chairman, Vodafone Group PLC, and Former Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings PLC; Lord Browne of Madingley, Former Group Chief Executive, BP PLC; Henri de Castries, Chairman and CEO, AXA Group; William E. Ford, CEO, General Atlantic LLC; Christopher B. Galvin, Chairman & Co-Founder, Harrison Street Capital LLC; and LI Daokui, Chair, Department of Finance, Tsinghua SEM.

The second panel’s theme was, “The Rise of Transnational Management and International Management Teams” and was moderated by Professor YANG Bin, Senior Associate Dean, Tsinghua SEM. The panelists were Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO, C.V. Starr & Co., Inc and Former Chairman and CEO, AIG; Nobuyuki Idei, Founder and CEO, Representative Director, Quantum Leaps Corporation and Former Chairman and Group CEO, Sony Corporation; Irwin Mark Jacobs, Co-Founder and Director, Qualcomm Incorporated; Richard Li, Chairman and Chief Executive, Pacific Century Group; LIU Chuanzhi, Chairman and President, Legend Holdings Ltd. and Chairman, Lenovo; and WEI Jiafu, Chairman, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company.

The third panel’s theme was, “The Restructuring of the Global Industrial Sectors” and was moderated by CHEN Weihong, MC, China Central Television. Panelists were Professor QIAN Yingyi, Dean of Tsinghua SEM; Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Company; LI Rongrong, Former Chairman, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission; David Schmittlein, John C. Head III Dean, MIT Sloan School of Management; John L. Thornton, Chairman, Tsinghua SEM Advisory Board, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Brookings Institution and Co-Chairman, Barrick Gold Corporation; and Marjorie Yang, Chairman, Esquel Group.

The forum’s speeches and panel discussions provided audience members with a wealth of information and insights, and left them eager to attend future forums.

“I read about these experts all the time, so to get to see them all in person and hear their views on such important topics is very special,” said XU Xiang, a Ph.D. in Finance from China’s Anhui Province. “They all spoke very frankly and gave a lot of very insightful opinions and ideas. Attending this forum is always one of the things I most look forward to every year.”