Harris Students Talk Climate Change with Chinese Entrepreneur Wang Shi

In keeping with the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy’s deepening commitment with the people of China and its heavy focus on energy and environment issues, a group of students recently met with Wang Shi, the Chinese entrepreneur who founded Vanke, that country’s largest residential real estate company.

Over the course of their lively discussion, Wang, a noted philanthropist and advocate for environmental sustainability, touched on issues of carbon neutrality and the importance of China-US relations for the planet’s health. He also offered insights and advice to the next generation of aspiring policy leaders.

During his brief visit to Chicago, Wang prioritized spending time at Harris, aware of the school’s broad and deep energy, economics, and climate-focused curriculum, as well as programming that explores vital issues such as ESG investing’s potential impact on public policy. Wang also noted how Harris students benefit from the school’s connection to the University’s Energy Policy Institute, and that they learn from distinguished faculty such as Michael Greenstone, Fiona Burlig, Ryan Kellogg, and Koichiro Ito, just to mention a few of the Harris scholars focused on energy, environmental issues, and related fields of study. 

The students know well that Wang’s commitment to policy and the public welfare is deep-rooted. He was the first executive director of One Foundation and is a board director of World Wildlife Fund US. In 2019, he co-founded both the Foundation for Rural Development (FRD) and Shenzhen Mammoth Foundation.  And he serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Governance for Sustainability, with a particular focus on forests, biodiversity, and climate change.

In 2020, Vanke Enterprise Stock Center signed a donation agreement with Tsinghua University Education Foundation to donate 200 million shares of Vanke shares to Tsinghua University Education Foundation for the establishment of the "Tsinghua University Vanke Public Health and Health Discipline Development Special Fund". According to the closing price of Vanke shares on the latest trading day, the current market value of the donated equity is about 5.3 billion yuan, which is the largest single donation to university foundations in China. Vanke will work with Tsinghua University to jointly establish the School of Public Health.

Committed to exploring and advancing carbon-neutral economic models, Wang uses his substantial social influence to advocate for change, including donating 100 million yuan to Wuhan for the fight against COVID-19 and persuading 100 of his fellow entrepreneurs to support rural development. Wang represented millions of Chinese companies at the World Climate Summit and attended the ESG Global Leaders Summit.  

“China’s goal is to reach carbon neutralization by 2060,” Wang explained early in the discussion. “That’s a very ambitious goal.  ESG, despite the hype, is a drop in the bucket. It must be a concerted effort of both the government and the business community to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, much less by 2030.”

“If the temperature rises by two degrees, global warming becomes irreversible,” he continued. “If it is controlled at two degrees, China would have to invest 130 trillion yuan by 2060.”

“To forestall these calamities, we must come to grips with the fact the rapid growth-oriented economic model of the past 40 years – since China opened – will need to be transformed. We cannot develop first and then govern. Instead, we must govern while developing,” he added, emphasizing both the scale and importance of the challenge.

“As an advocate for climate action as well as one of the most experienced entrepreneurs in China, Mr. Wang’s take on challenges and opportunities in emission reduction was grounded in practicality,” said Ren Cheng, MPP’22.  “I left feeling inspired by his commitment to climate issues and his efforts to facilitate international dialogues. We need more private sector leaders like him. It was great to have him visit Harris.”

The event was organized by Christina Xu, an associate director in Harris’s Office of Career Development who focuses exclusively on helping connect Chinese employers with the growing contingent of Harris students and alumni from the region. Moving forward, Xu said she anticipates hosting more events with Chinese leaders, both in China and in the Keller Center, a natural destination for a climate advocate like Wang, given the building’s world-class sustainability features. 

Later in the conversation, when asked about China’s real estate industry, Wang noted that some steps are currently being taken, such as enhancing energy efficiency by adding insulation on the existing buildings – but he said much more needs to be done to meet the goals that have been established.

Heating and cooling are just one example illustrating how large the carbon-neutral economy model and the business opportunities between US-China are. Wang explained that much of his philosophy on these issues evolved when he met with Henry Paulson for the first time. The one-time US Treasury Secretary and CEO of Goldman Sachs, Paulson is a noted US-China expert and the Institute bearing his name has strong ties with Chinese business and policy leaders.

In fact, the Paulson Institute has close relations with the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology (SEE), an organization which Wang co-founded in 2004. That same year, SEE and the Paulson Institute signed a Cooperation Framework Agreement to partner and advance progress in the areas of sustainable development, climate, sustainable urbanization, ESG, and conservation. 

“The United States and China cannot accomplish things without each other. We must together – as economic powers – be responsible for mankind and the earth. To that end, I believe it’s important that we strive to not only cooperate on major policy questions, but also to reduce misunderstandings and confrontations through cultural, sports, and art activities.  Softer engagements on areas that build understanding are just as essential as the bottom line,” Wang insisted.

Later in the discussion, Wang was asked his advice for leading a good life. He told the students that the first thing is to be a good person. “How do people succeed? Usually it is luck, working hard, and honesty,” he said, “you should not rush or take shortcut to succeed.”

“When the opportunity arises, you grab it,” he encouraged the assembled future leaders. “You see what I'm wearing, I don't look like a billionaire and my hand is the hand of an old farmer. I encourage you to try to live like ordinary people.”

“It’s hard not to admire Mr. Wang,” Xu said. “Besides his incredible professional success, he’s an inspiration for how to lead a good life.  He began to climb mountains at the age of 52. He then became the 11th person to accomplish the 7+2 Adventure – reaching the highest peaks of the seven continents in 2004 and crossing the South Pole and the North Pole in 2005. At the age of 60, he chose to study at Harvard and learned a new foreign language.”

“Mr. Wang Shi was so full of wisdom on everything from carbon neutrality to charity to environmental protection to sports. Driven by ideals and supported by facts. Hail to him and the idealists of the age,” was how Jiacheng Zhang, MPP Class of ’23, described Wang and his session with the students.

Jinglu Wang, also MPP Class of ’23, had a similar perspective, one that dovetails with Xu’s plans for more robust China-specific programming and opportunities at Harris: “Mr. Wang Shi encouraged us to believe in ourselves and that meant a lot to me and my classmates, coming from such a distinguished leader. It was such a fun event and I look forward to more in the future.”