“After hard-won battles, deeper study; after refined insight, renewed battles.” From August 11, 2022, to September 28, 2025 – over 1,100 days – 66 trainees of the first batch of the Tsinghua-GEM New Era Leadership Training Program have successfully graduated. With 25 intensive study days, 32 specialized courses, and lectures from 31 interdisciplinary experts, the program was completed under the guidance of GEM Chairman Professor Xu Kaihua, who urged the trainees to “study earnestly, think deeply, and comprehend thoroughly.” The graduation ceremony was attended by Professor Li Jizhen, Program Lead Professor and Chairman of Tsinghua University Asset Management Co., Ltd; Professor He Ping, Vice Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University; Professor Xu Kaihua, Founder and Chairman of GEM; and Chen Feng, Program Director and Assistant Director of the Executive Education Center at Tsinghua SEM.

▲Graduation Ceremony of the Tsinghua-GEM New Era Leadership Program Held at Tsinghua University

As the program’s lead professor, Professor Li Jizhen closely followed the trainees’ improvement throughout the training and delivered a comprehensive summary of the training program. He emphasized that GEM’s New Era Leadership Program resonates deeply with Tsinghua’s academic spirit and GEM’s philosophy of “limited resources, unlimited recycling.” The program, he said, is a profound embodiment of Chairman Xu’s vision of “revitalizing industry through talent.” Commending the trainees’ enthusiasm for learning, Professor Li encouraged them to further cultivate their leadership, carry forward GEM’s excellent corporate culture, and “study hard and gain wisdom for a hundred battles” to contribute to GEM’s global development.

▲Professor Li Jizhen Delivering Closing Remarks as Program Lead Professor and Chairman of Tsinghua University Asset Management Co., Ltd

Professor He Ping, on behalf of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management, delivered a graduation message to all trainees. He encouraged the trainees of the New Era Leadership Program to transform the vision, skills, and friendships gained at Tsinghua into wisdom and confidence to face future challenges. Their self-improvement will provide continuous green energy for GEM. Professor He also hoped that the trainees would be practitioners of the unity of knowledge and action, bringing strategic insights, practical tools, and team spirit back to the front lines and integrating them into practice to become the driving force of GEM’s development.

▲Professor He Ping, Vice Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, Delivering the Graduation Message

In his speech titled “Rooted in Tsinghua, Sailing into the World,” Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, shared three key insights from his dual identity as both a multiple-time trainee in Tsinghua University’s training programs and the Chairman of GEM:

1. Gratitude to Tsinghua, Learning at Tsinghua is a Lifetime Honor

Chairman Xu Kaihua first fondly recalled the arduous journey of this training program, which spanned three years of challenges, including the pandemic, internal competition, and the tariff war. Against all odds, the program was completed without interruption or compromise in quality, culminating in the graduation of all 66 participants. He expressed heartfelt gratitude to Tsinghua SEM and the faculty for the custom-designed program and to the 31 renowned professors who guided the 66 GEM participants through the vast academic halls of Tsinghua. He noted that for 99% of people, studying at Tsinghua is an unattainable pinnacle. The 66 trainees in this training program, however, represented the entire GEM system: from finance, securities, marketing, and manufacturing to innovation and R&D, from domestic to overseas parks, from Chinese employees to Indonesian employees, from undergraduates to PhDs, from GEM’s young backbones and elite talents to its leading figures. Together, they all bear the “Tsinghua mark” – a collective climb up the “spiritual mountain.”

He encouraged GEM’s trainees to “refine their hearts, cultivate their virtues, and embrace green values.” and uphold a calm and pragmatic mindset, a character grounded in integrity, and an unyielding spirit to support the backbone of global green development in the turbulent world.

▲Professor Xu Kaihua, Founder and Chairman of GEM, Delivering His Speech

   2. Rooted in Tsinghua, Tsinghua Spirit is the Everlasting Force Driving GEM Forward

Chairman Xu further emphasized that the decision to establish a dedicated Tsinghua program was a “milestone event” in the development history of GEM. He explained that coming to Tsinghua was not just about acquiring knowledge from experts, but about refining the spirit of “self-discipline and social commitment” and seeking sustainable solutions in a competitive world.

He stressed that although GEM is technologically advanced, in the face of the complex global environment, GEM’s members must continuously sharpen their strategic insight, enhance their management skills, broaden their global perspective, and deeply cultivate management expertise to explore solutions for the competitive era.

The practice has proven this: over the past three years, GEM has thrived amid global competition, achieving a substantial boost in both competitive standing and profitability. It has successfully entered the “China’s Top 500 Manufacturing Enterprises” list, with its patent competitiveness ranking 230th among Chinese companies, and it ranks first in both new energy materials and waste recycling sectors. Additionally, GEM’s overseas production capacity has garnered global attention, and its flexible globalization model of “Industry, Technology, and Culture” has become a benchmark for the successful globalization of Chinese private enterprises. Behind all these achievements lies the formidable fighting spirit that the Tsinghua spirit has instilled in GEM’s members!

3. Elevating Tsinghua, Using Tsinghua Wisdom to Navigate Global Competition and Challenges

Facing ongoing global challenges, Chairman Xu encouraged all trainees: “GEM’s goal of establishing a world-class green enterprise is already in motion!” He urged, “Fellow students, after refined insight, renewed battles.!” Now is the time to set out and ride the waves of global competition and challenges, applying the wisdom imparted by Tsinghua to lead the charge!

In closing, Chairman Xu Kaihua reaffirmed GEM’s unwavering commitment to the philosophy of “Investing in Talent, Co-creating the Future.” He announced the launch of the second and third installments of the Tsinghua-GEM New Era Leadership Program. This initiative will enable more GEM members to refine their skills and acquire the distinctive “Tsinghua prowess,” thereby generating powerful new momentum for GEM’s quest to become a world-class green enterprise.

During the ceremony, Pan Hua – GEM’s Director, Senior Deputy General Manager, and Class Leader of the Leadership Program – expressed heartfelt gratitude on behalf of all 66 trainees to Tsinghua University, GEM, and Professor Xu Kaihua for their selfless support. “After three years of intensive study, we now embark on a renewed green journey, inspired by the brilliant ‘Tsinghua purple,’ and carry forward the spirit of ‘self-discipline and social commitment,’” he said.

Representing all classmates, Mr.Pan Hua pledged to apply their learning in practice, take on new responsibilities, embrace continuous growth, and lead in green innovation. The energy and inspiration gained at Tsinghua will be carried back to GEM, fueling GEM’s future with renewed passion and drive.

▲Pan Hua, GEM Director, Senior Deputy General Manager, and Class President, Expressing Gratitude on Behalf of All trainees

After the graduation ceremony, the trainees of GEM’s New Era Leadership Training Program took Chairman Xu’s words to heart and quickly returned to their work posts, ready to face to renewed battles with refined insight. They vowed to read, reflect, and fight on, striving to build GEM into a world-class green industry park with burning passion and steadfast resolve.