On 12 August 2016 the first two-week Youth Leaders Summer Programme, sponsored by Hanban and run jointly by the LSE Confucius Institute for Business London, CIBL, and Tsinghua University, THU was brought to a successful conclusion. The programme provided young professionals from London the chance to visit Tsinghua University and explore Chinese language and culture with a strong emphasis on business and establishing networks with Chinese counterparts. The first group of 30 included participants from major UK companies including the UKTI, LSE, HSBC, Ernst & Young, PWC and JP Morgan.
On 01 August 2016 Professor SHI Yigong, vice president of Tsinghua University, hosted the opening ceremony and delivered a welcome speech to the participants.
On 03 August 2016 participants attended the first China-UK Communication Forum. Professor XIE Weihe, the deputy director of Tsinghua University Council Committee and the chairman of the LSE Confucius Institute for Business London (CIBL) Advisory Council, opened the forum and delivered a speech about the functions and influences of multi-culturalism. Professor XIE was then followed by Professor LIU Xiaofeng, head of Faculty of Arts in Tsinghua University and the Confucius Institute at THU, who also delivered a welcoming speech. After the opening ceremony the forum officially began and was presented by special host Ms ZHAO Mengjie, an LSE alumni who now works in the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Ms ZHAO introduced each of the speakers: Mr Dominic Stanton, head of the Ministerial and Policy team at UKTI China; Ms YANG Fan, deputy general manager of New China Asset Management and Mr GENG Ke, partner of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. All of the speakers shared their rich industry experience with the participants and discussed Sino-British trade after Brexit and also relevant financial and legal issues.
In the afternoon of 10 August, the participants visited the Confucius Institute headquarters, Hanban, where they were welcomed by Hanban Director Tian Lei’s and given a presentation on the development of the HSK test by Mr Li Peize, Director of Hanban examination office.
On 10 August 2016 an Elite Professionals Networking Session was held to help participants understand Chinese ways of working and social relationships. A dozen elite Chinese professionals working in state-owned foreign companies were invited to participate so as to deepen mutual friendship via communication and after dinner karaoke. The China-UK Communication Forum and Elite Professionals Networking Session are the essence of Youth Leaders Summer Programme. In addition, 10 students from Tsinghua University met with participants through the exchange activities in the hope that they will become long-term language partners.
The 2016 "Young Leaders" project built on the success of the 2015 programme and contained 35 hours of language learning, cultural lectures, language exchange and cultural excursions. Besides these activities the programme this year added further business related activities such as the China-UK Communication Forum and Elite Professionals Networking Session. In this manner the programme was made stronger and had a greater impact on the language and cultural understand of the participants and, it is hoped, will help future cooperation’s between young leaders form these two great countries.