On 21 June 2019, former Minister of Commerce (2006-2013) Chen Deming (陈德铭) was appointed President of Tsinghua University Taiwan Institute.
Chen is the fourth (vice-) ministerial-ranking official who got an appointment from Tsinghua University within the past 12 months. On 30 May 2019, former Vice Minister of Culture (2008-2013) Zhao Shaohua (赵少华) was appointed Professor of Practice at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management. On 24 April 2019, former State Council Vice Secretary-General (2011-2018) Jiang Xiaojuan (江小涓) was appointed tenured Professor. Earlier in November 2018, Jiang was already appointed Dean of Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management. Before Jiang, former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (2010-2013) Amb. Fu Ying (傅莹) was appointed Adjunct Professor and Honorary President of Tsinghua University Institute of International Relations in October 2018.
Renowned for its science and engineering disciplines, Tsinghua University in recent years has invested significantly in social science and humanity disciplines—the hiring of these retired senior government officials is just one example of such effort. Tsinghua University also hosts the World Peace Forum, which is due to convene in early July, and was the first non-governmental high-level security dialogue in China. President Xi Jinping attended the first World Peace Forum in 2012, when he was Vice President of China.