Former US Secretary of State Addresses CCG Symposium on Entrepreneurship Education in China

Beijing – As President Xi Jinping kicked off his first state visit to America, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Beijing and attended the symposium on “Entrepreneurship Education in China” co-sponsored by the Center for China & Globalization (CCG) and Laureate International Universities.

This symposium was the first international high-level event on entrepreneurship education in which government officials, scholars and business executives from China and the world came together to discuss the best international practices in this area and their implications for China in its domestic entrepreneurship education.

In her presentation, Rice emphasized the imperative role of innovation in driving economic growth. She also argued that entrepreneurship, which is crucial in fueling that innovation, can and should be taught. Rice argued that entrepreneurship education should not only include the knowledge of engineering, mathematics, science and technology, but also the arts and humanities.

Commenting on the emerging opportunities brought on by President Xi’s visit to the United States, Rice maintained that global stability and development is not possible without China’s sustainable economic development. China and the United States are very important to each other and still have great potential to cooperate in many key areas, like climate control. She also pointed out that China’s entrepreneurship boom has received worldwide recognition.

In addition, Rice emphasized the need to expand Sino-American bilateral cooperation in education, and encouraged more young American people to study in China. She added that when doing so, they should look outside municipalities like Beijing and Shanghai to other less well-known places to get a better whole picture of China.

Focused on the opportunities and challenges in China’s entrepreneurship education as well as the new trend in global entrepreneurship education, this symposium generated valuable insights for future policy development. CCG will compile participants’ opinions and ideas into advisory reports for relevant government agencies, in order to push forward entrepreneurship education in China.