Title: $10M Gift Will Create U.S.-China Initiative on Global Issues at Georgetown

A $10 million gift announced today from the Hong-Kong based Spring Breeze Foundation to Georgetown will support a new university Initiative for US-China Dialogue on Global Issues.

The initiative will bring together leaders from the public sector, business and academia to address common challenges facing the global community.

The gift will also support related research and teaching activities that connect Georgetown faculty and students with colleagues at leading Chinese universities.

“This initiative will allow us to identify and deepen shared approaches to critical issues including the environment and global development,” said Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia. “We are grateful for this opportunity to advance solutions to some of today’s most complex global challenges.”

The Spring Breeze Foundation is supported by the CP Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Thailand that is one of world’s largest agribusiness and food companies and is also active in the telecommunications, retail, finance and pharmaceuticals sectors.

“For more than 60 years, our company philosophy has emphasized that good business practices must also benefit people and countries,” said CP Group Vice Chairman Yang Xiaoping. “As a leading global university in Washington, D.C., Georgetown is well positioned to advance the most important international relationship of our era.”

The Georgetown initiative is now in a planning phase and will be formally launched in the coming weeks. All of its activities will be based upon four foundational principles: independence, transparency, balance and academic excellence.

“At a critical time for the U.S., China, and the world, inevitable national differences make structured dialogue and practical cooperation more important than ever,” said Thomas Banchoff, Georgetown’s vice president for global engagement.