(Article provided by Organizing Committee of Extracurricular- Lectures Series)

President and CEO of U.S. Chamber of Commerce Thomas J. Donohuehas visited Tsinghua SEM on March 28, 2007 and delivered a speech entitled “The Role of Trade Associations in the United States: the work that the Chamber does in the area of capital markets and corporate governance”. Associate Dean of the Tsinghua SEM, Professor Liao Li and Director of Alumni and Development Office of the School Pan Qingzhong held talks with Mr. Donohue before the lecture.

Mr.Donohue’s speech began with a brief introduction to theU.S.economy and several problems currently facing the country. Afterwards, he talked about four most important factors affecting a nation’s economic development: human capital, energy, capital markets, and infrastructure. The U.S. Chamber chief then switched his focus toChina. He saidChinahas massive amounts of human capital meanwhile the country is expanding education, both of which are beneficial forChina’s economic development, butChinaneeds to utilize energy in a more efficient way, as he added.

Mr. Donohue also talked about Sino-US relationship in his speech. As he pointed out,ChinaandU.S.can develop cooperation in three aspects: trade, culture, and politics. “Having strong economic relationship can keep people away from conflicts”, said Mr. Donohue.

After the speech, Mr. Donohue answered questions from the audience regarding specific measures U.S. Chamber of Commerce takes to promote trade andU.S.weapon sales toTaiwan, etc..

Thomas J. Donohue is president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing 3 million companies, associations, state and local chambers, and American Chambers of Commerce abroad. Since assuming his position in 1997, Donohue has built the Chamber into a lobbying and political force with expanded influence across the globe.

Donohue serves on three corporate boards of directors. In addition, he is a member of the President’s Council on the 21st Century Workforce as well as the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.