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The term itself was used in a speech given by the former Vice Principal of the Central Party School, Zheng Bijian, in late 2003 during the Boao Forum for Asia. Zheng had formulated the concept as a result of a delegation visit he led to the United States to meet with officials of the George W. Bush administration. Zheng returned to China and proposed a study to develop a theory of China's peaceful rise. Premier Wen Jiabao became the first high-level leader to endorse the concept in December 2003, while speaking at Harvard University. It appears to be one of the first initiatives by the fourth generation of the leadership of the PRC, headed by Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao.