A financier is to channel $100 million of his personal fortune along with $200 million from private sector donors into a scholarship scheme allowing more Americans to study in China.
Stephen Schwarzman, CEO and co-founder of US private equity firm Blackstone Group, said the endowment would enable 200 mostly US students to study one-year masters at Tsinghua University, Beijing. It will also fund the construction of Schwarzman College – the facilities where the courses will be held.
The venture represents one of the largest philanthropic gifts ever made to China and is designed to build ties between the countries.
“A win-win relationship of mutual respect between the West and China is vital, benefiting Asia and the rest of the world, and enhancing economic ties that could lead to a new era of mutual prosperity,” Schwarzman said at the programme’s launch in Beijing.
“A win-win relationship of mutual respect between the West and China is vital”
Forty five per cent of the scholars will come from the US, 20% from China and 35% from other countries. All will take English-taught classes starting in 2016, and programmes will cover public policy, economics and business, international relations and eventually engineering. The scheme aims to take in 10,000 students over the next 50 years, say organisers.
In addition to his own $100 million, Schwarzman has raised funds from private companies with big stakes in Chinese markets including aircraft manufacturer Boeing and the construction giant Caterpillar. After Schwarzman, the biggest donor is BP which exports natural gas to China.
The scheme’s advisory board includes three former US Secretaries of State – Henry Kissinger, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell –former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Australian Prime Minster Kevin Rudd, and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Shwarzman says he hopes it will rival the prestige and influence of the Rhodes Scholarship
Tsinghua president Chen Jining gave the idea to Schwarzman, who said “it wasn’t an instant yes”. Now, after several years of development, Shwarzman says he hopes it will rival the prestige and influence of the Rhodes Scholarship, which attracts top foreign students to Oxford University.
“The world is at an important crossroads that calls for institutions of higher education to step forward and play a significant role in shaping the future of international relations,” said Chen.
