On March 21, 2026, a closed-door seminar themed Quality-Driven Breakthrough in a Changing World was held at the School of Economics and Management (SEM), Tsinghua University.
Bai Chong-En, Dean of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, Senior Professor of Arts and Humanities at Tsinghua University, and Executive Dean of Tsinghua University Institute for Global Development , together with Bob Sternfels, Global Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company, delivered keynote speeches respectively. Afterwards, engaged in deep-dive discussions were held with China’s prominent private entrepreneurs. The discussions centered on key topics such as breaking the 'involution' cycle, fostering new quality productive forces, consolidating the foundation of high-quality development, and exploring global expansion strategies. Focusing on practical experience sharing, strategic dialogue and consensus building, the seminar aimed to provide insights and inspiration for leading Chinese private enterprises to seize new opportunities and achieve high-quality development.
Scenes from the Event
At the seminar, Dean Bai Chong-En, delivered a speech titled To the World-Class Enterprises from China. He pointed out that the global economic landscape is undergoing profound adjustments with accelerated restructuring of industrial and supply chains, alongside continuous shifts in geopolitics, trade rules and market environments. Meanwhile, China’s economy is fully advancing toward high-quality development, with new quality productive forces being rapidly cultivated and expanded, bringing systemic changes to development drivers, structures and pathways.
The evolving landscape presents both challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, traditional growth models face mounting pressure amid intensified industrial competition and rising global market barriers, leaving enterprises grappling with industrial restructuring, industrial involution and value dilution. On the other hand, surging technological innovation, in-depth penetration of the digital economy, comprehensive green transition and a new phase of globalization create historic opportunities for business model innovation, industrial upgrading, value reshaping and global expansion.
Dean Bai Chong-En delivered a keynote address titled "To China's World-Class Enterprises."
Bob Sternfels emphasized that Chinese private enterprises stand among the most dynamic, innovative and resilient players in China’s market economy, serving as a backbone for technological breakthroughs, industrial upgrading, and global industrial competition and cooperation. Amid profound global economic shifts and accelerated technological and industrial transformation, Chinese private enterprises are undergoing strategic transformation—shifting from scale expansion, cost advantages and domestic-focused growth to high-quality development driven by value upgrading, innovation, brand building and global layout, and evolving from regional market players to international competitors that integrate global resources, serve worldwide markets and engage in global governance.
Bob Sternfels delivered a keynote speech titled "Winning Globally Through Quality."
During exchange session, Chinese leading private entreprenerus attending the meeting and conducted in-depth discussions on Breaking the Deadlock of “Involution”: From Price Wars to Value Wars — New Pathways for High-quality Competition；Innovation-driven Breakthroughs: Building New Growth Curves for Long-term Sustainable Growth；Setting Sail Globally: Practical Strategies and Risk Management for Private Enterprises “Going Global” . They shared practices and reflections on high-end transformation, intelligent upgrading, green and low-carbon development, supply chain security, localized operation, cross-cultural management and compliance system development. Participants jointly analyzed the pain points and difficulties faced by private enterprises in going global and explored viable paths to advance from product export to value export, from scale-driven growth to high-quality development, and from domestic leaders to world-class global enterprises.
Looking ahead, the seminar focused on pooling wisdom to address core issues: identifying strategic directions in a volatile global context, cultivating new growth drivers amid technological upgrades and industrial restructuring, and building long-term competitive strengths through quality, efficiency and momentum transformation.
The event was jointly hosted by Tsinghua University Institute for Global Development and McKinsey & Company.
