Why an aspiring US secretary of state chose to study in Beijing

Schwarzman Scholars from 26 countries to form a foreign bridge to China in terms of politics, business and culture

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Blackstone Group chairman Stephen Schwarzman launches the Schwarzman Scholars at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in April 2013. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:01pm, 17 Sep 2017Updated: 9:01pm, 17 Sep 2017

Mark McGinnis, a 22-year-old graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, dreams of becoming secretary of state someday and has spent lots of time in Washington, accumulating experience in Congress and the Supreme Court.

But now he is ready for “deep dives” in China – a rising rival across the Pacific and a “compulsory course” of study for aspiring global leaders in the 21st century.

His choice is a one-year master’s in global affairs programme at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, where President Xi Jinping and his predecessor, Hu Jintao, both studied. While Tsinghua is known as a top training school for China’s scientists and communist party officials, the programme McGinnis has just commenced is funded by a US$100 million donation from Stephen Schwarzman, the chairman of US investment firm Blackstone Group.

The Schwarzman Scholars programme at Tsinghua University, pictured above, is modelled on the Rhodes Scholarship at Britain’s Oxford University. Photo: Shutterstock

“China is growing. I need to know what’s going on there,” McGinnis said of his decision to join the Schwarzman Scholars in Beijing. “The best way to do that is to be fully immersed in the area ... by talking to people here.”

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