The Aspen Institute's Business and Society Program has launched the Chinese Business School Initiative.

Top government officials, administrators from China's top business schools, and representatives from businesses like ChinaCSR.com, CitiGroup, Syntao and Intel met in Beijing on December 15 to review Aspen's plans to help China develop business leaders with the ethical frameworks, substantive knowledge and functional skills necessary to lead successful enterprises, contribute to social progress and improve environmental conditions in China.

The Initiative is hosted by the Aspen Institute's Business and Society Program, and co-hosted by both the Chinese organization SynTao and the Chinese State Environmental Protection Agency's Center for Environmental Education and Communication. The initiative also has received explicit support from the Chinese National MBA Supervisory Committee, Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, AACSB International, and UN Global Compact.

Start-up funding has been provided by Citigroup Foundation, but the initiative will require additional ongoing funding from well-respected companies and organizations operating in China.

"As the private sector grows in China, the government, media and general public are raising expectations about the contributions that business can make to the Harmonious Society," says Judith Samuelson, executive director of the Aspen Institute's Business and Society Program. "For the private sector to help drive productive and sustainable development of the Chinese economy and society, business leaders will need a new array of skills. Chinese business schools are responsible for educating many of these leaders, but currently lack focus on business responsibility and opportunity around key social and environmental issues."