A new scholarship program intended to rival the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships and build understanding between China and the world opened its doors at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University on Saturday. (Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press)BEIJING — A new scholarship program intended to rival the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships and build understanding between China and the world opened its doors at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University on Saturday. Chosen from more than 3,000 applicants, the 110 Schwarzman Scholars represent 32 countries, with 44 percent from the United States and 21 percent from China. Drawn from the sciences, business and even the military, they will go on to be “people of influence” who can explain China to the world and the world to China, he said. The Schwarzman scholarship program aims for an endowment of $450 million, of which $200 million has already been raised from private sources, including a $100 million gift from Schwarzman, a co-founder of the private equity Blackstone Group.

Source: Washington Post September 10, 2016 05:42 UTC