Event Details

What are the outcomes of the 2020 Two Sessions/Lianghui?


What is China's domestic and international outlook in the new decade and in the post COVID-19 world?


What should foreign businesses be on the lookout for?



Last year's China Now highlighted that despite gloomy domestic economic forecasts and uncertainty arising from global trade tensions, foreign businesses would continue to benefit from China's economic opening and the growing wave of Chinese firms going global. How would this change in 2020?


China's GDP contracted by 6.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020. This is the first time in more than 40 years that the Chinese economy has shrunk, owing to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the severe economic disruption caused by subsequent lockdown measures imposed across the country to contain the virus. How would this affect economic development domestically and globally?


The British Chamber of Commerce in China is delighted to invite you to join a panel of renowned experts to address all these issues, recognise the domestic and international outlook for China and breakdown 2020 Lianghui.


Keynote speech and "Lianghui" breakdown by Benjamin Lim

Overview of China's domestic economic outlook by Gordon Orr

Overview of China's international outlook and related global tensions by Yu Jie

Discussion moderated by Tom Rafferty

Speakers

  • Jie Yu (Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs)

    Jie Yu

    Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs

    Dr Yu Jie is senior research fellow on China at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, focusing on the decision-making process of Chinese foreign policy as well as China’s economic diplomacy. She speaks and writes frequently in major media outlets such as the BBC and Financial Times; and regularly briefs senior policy practitioners from the G7 member governments, the UK Cabinet Office and the Silk Road Fund in Beijing, as well as major FTSE 100 companies. Yu Jie has testified at the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and the International Trade Committee. She was head of China Foresight at LSE IDEAS. Prior to LSE, she was a management consultant, specializing in Chinese state-owned enterprise investments in Europe and Chinese market entry strategies for European conglomerates at the London Office of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. She has been recognized as a ‘Leading Woman’ of the London School of Economics for her contribution to teaching and engaging in public debates on China’s foreign affairs. She remains an associate fellow at LSE IDEAS.

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  • Benjamin Lim (Global Affairs Correspondent at The Straits Times, Singapore)

    Benjamin Lim

    Global Affairs Correspondent at The Straits Times, Singapore

    Benjamin Lim was the North Asia Specialist Correspondent for Reuters, based in Beijing. Ben joined Reuters in 1991, serving as Taipei bureau chief from 2000 to 2002 and Beijing bureau chief from 2008 to 2010. Having broken some of the biggest news stories out of China, Ben won the Reuters Scoop of the Year award in 2007 for correctly predicting the new line-up of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee three weeks before the official announcement. Ben was also named Reuters Reporter of the Year in 2011, and shared Reuters Reporting Team of the Year with the Hong Kong bureau in 2014. He won more than 10 journalism awards, including Overseas Press Club of America award in 2015, Society of American Business Editors and Writers Canada award in 2016 and Society of Publishers in Asia four times. His career highlights include exclusive interviews with then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in 2004, group interview with then Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2008 (prior to the Olympics), one on one with then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2008 and then Philippine President Benigno Aquino in 2014. Ben’s latest book, “把脈中國:對習近平的第一手觀察” (“Taking China’s Pulse”), was released in January 2016.

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  • Gordon Orr (Chairman at Westchel)

    Gordon Orr

    Chairman at Westchel

    Gordon is a Non-Executive Director of Hong Kong listed Meituan Dianping, Lenovo, and Swire Pacific and of Stockholm listed EQT. He is also a Non-Executive Director of several privately held China and UK based tech companies. Beyond these formal roles, he provides counsel to a small number of China focused entrepreneurs.
    Gordon began his career at McKinsey in London. He moved to Hong Kong in 1993 and to Beijing a year later, opening McKinsey’s practice in China. Gordon led McKinsey’s Greater China practice for many years and was Chairman of McKinsey Asia from 2009 to 2014. Gordon was on McKinsey’s global board of directors from 2003 to 2015 with responsibilities for Asia, Governance and Risk. He retired from McKinsey in 2015 and is now a Senior Advisor.
    Gordon Orr is Vice Chair of the China Britain Business Council, Senior Advisor to Chatham House on China and an Associate of the Oxford University China Centre.
    Gordon writes regularly on China topics, mainly on LinkedIn where he has more than 1.7 million followers.

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  • Tom Rafferty (Regional Director, Asia of Economist Intelligence Unit)

    Tom Rafferty

    Regional Director, Asia of Economist Intelligence Unit

    Tom is The Economist Intelligence Unit’s lead analyst for China and manages a team of researchers in Beijing. He is responsible for the EIU’s daily analysis of political, economic and social developments in China, evaluating their significance for clients, and devises the forecasts that underpin the EIU’s flagship reports for the country. Tom also manages the EIU's Access China service, which offers unrivalled analytical coverage of China’s provinces and cities. He is a frequent commentator in the international media and gives regular presentations to clients, as well as at external conferences and seminars.

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Tickets

BritCham China Members

This event is free to Members of the British Chamber of Commerce in China
NOTE: You will receive a webinar link from ZOOM at least 24 hours prior to the event, please check your spam mailbox as well as often zoom emails will not go through to regular inbox. Thank you.

Member Price Complimentary
Regional BritCham Members - Shanghai, Guangdong and Southwest, Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore

*All registrants will receive a webinar link from Zoom at least 24 hours prior to the event, please check your spam mailbox as well as often zoom emails will not go through to regular inbox. Thank you.
*Please note that tickets are non-refundable. Payment can be made in WeChat/Alipay, or with international bank credit/debit cards.
*Please note that the attendee will bear the cost of the fapiao delivery if a fapiao is required.

Standard Price Complimentary
Non-Member

*All registrants will receive a webinar link from Zoom at least 24 hours prior to the event, please check your spam mailbox as well as often zoom emails will not go through to regular inbox. Thank you.
*Please note that tickets are non-refundable. Payment can be made in WeChat/Alipay, or with international bank credit/debit cards.
*Please note that the attendee will bear the cost of the fapiao delivery if a fapiao is required.

Standard Price RMB 200