Horasis China Meeting5-6 November 2017, Sheffield, United Kingdom

a Horasis leadership event

Co-hosts:Sheffield City RegionChina Federation of Industrial Economics

Report

© Horasis

2017 – All rights reserved

The publication was prepared in cooperation with the University of Sheffield.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means.

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Horasis China Meeting5-6 November 2017, Sheffield, United Kingdoma Horasis leadership event

Co-hosts:

Sheffield City Region

China Federation of Industrial Economics

Co-chairs:

Lord Alderdice Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom

Anson Chan Chairman, Bonds Group of Companies, Hong Kong SAR

Guan Jianzhong Chairman, Dagong Global Credit Rating, China

Jiang Zili Vice Chairman, Beijing Automotive Group, China

Emmanuel Justima Chief Executive Officer, Modricenir, Haiti

Lu Yuebing Chairman, TsingRay Investment Management, China

Lucy Niu Executive Director, Research Center of Pacific Studies, China

Pierce Riemer Director General, World Petroleum Council, United Kingdom

Sun Shengming Vice Chairman, Ginwa Investments Holding Group, China

David Wright Senior Advisor, Barclays International, United Kingdom

Deborah Wince-Smith President, United States Council on Competitiveness, USA

Yuan Mingli Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Caiyunapp.com, China

Zhao Jiasheng Vice Chairman, China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, China

Zhi Peng Executive Vice President, Tsinghua Asset Management Group, China

Co-organizers:

China Fortune Media

EU-China Municipal Development Commission

Academic Partners:

University of SheffieldSheffield Hallam University

Tourism Partner:

Visit England

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The 13th annual Horasis China Meeting took place in Sheffield

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Sheffield City Hall, venue of the meeting

Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Summary 15

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Foreword

By Frank-Jürgen Richter, Chairman, Horasis, Switzerland

The 13th Horasis China Meeting took placein Sheffield, UK over 5–7th November,2017 – hosted by the Sheffield City Regionand the China Federation of IndustrialEconomics.

Marian Sudbury, Northern PowerhouseDirector of Exports and Investment,Department for International Trade, UKopened the meeting and welcomed thedelegates. ‘The United Kingdom is delightedto host this Horasis China Meeting,’ she said.Nigel Knowles, Chairman, Sheffield CityRegion, UK mentioned how many globalfirms were coming to the rejuvenatedSheffield, once a high-tech steel workscentre but now presenting as a materialsscience region. ‘We are a can-do centreable to add value to a wide variety ofventures,’ he said.

The location of the Horasis China Meetingrotates annually and in recent years has beenheld in Interlaken (2016), Cascais (2015),Como (2014), The Hague (2013),Riga (2012),Valencia (2011) and Luxemburg (2010).With these meetings Horasis aims to pre -sent a systemic view of activities affectingthe drivers of China’s economic successand how Chinese businesses interact globallywithin other nations. According to Xu Jin,Minister Counsellor, Embassy of China tothe United Kingdom, the event has becomeone of the foremost annual global businessgatherings on China.

In the 2017 Horasis China Meeting therewere over 300 delegates focussing on howthe interactions of political and commer -cial policies combined to develop China’spresent and future well-being, and how the

result of the BREXIT discussions mightaffect Chinese investments – both in theUK and in Europe. Also, discussions notedhow the continued development of the Beltand Road initiative was helping developinnovations hubs in Asia, Africa, and theMiddle East and into Europe’s fringes, in -cluding the UK. Perhaps the most notableevent concerning delegates at this meetingwas the 19th National Congress of theCommunist Party of China held in Beijingover October 18th – 24th, 2017.

On accession, five years ago, President XiJinping moved on creating new directionsfor China. Now, in the fifth year of hisPresidency a set of decisive aims could bedefined for the nation.Over decades Chinahas concentrated successfully on raising itseconomy to become a world leader in manysectors and it has developed a rich middleclass wishing to buy goods ‘Made in China’thus mitigating the effects of an economicslow-down in the West. According toAlan X. Chen, Chief Executive Officer,Zailairen Valeon Information Technology Inc.,‘China’s many firms have developed, andnew policies have evolved just as globalgrowth is seen to be increasing: many arenow venturing overseas by M&A or byinitiation of green-field sites.’

Nigel Knowles, Chairman, Sheffield City Region, welcoming participants

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Xiong Meng, Vice Chairman, ChinaFederation of Industrial Economics, Chinastressed China’s new development conceptof ‘innovation, coordination, green, open -ness and sharing’, leading to a revision ofthe ‘new normal’ of economic develop -ment as it moves to a more efficient, fairand sustainable economy. Integral to thisstrategy are the Belt and Road initiative,the ‘Made in China 2025’ and the ‘Inte gra -ted Development of Beijing, Tianjin andHebei’ strategies. Allen Qu, ChiefExecutive Officer, Netconcepts China, wenton to state that Sino-British trade structurecould be further optimized: China’s exportsto Britain could be extended from traditio -nal labour-intensive products to high-endmanufacturing and infrastructure andother high level industries – noting howthe Northern Powerhouse and especiallythe Sheffield City Region developmentmight be conjointly integrated in China’sinvestment planning. Following dinner adiscussion was led by Kristel Van der Elst,Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Global Foresight Group, Switzerlanddebating how a new generation of Chineseentrepreneurs are shaping industries andbusiness processes locally and globally.

Many of the discussions at this Horasismeeting would not have taken placewithout China’s decades of growth. ‘Andgrowth is to be continued,’ as stated byKai Hu, Founder, EverGreen Academy,China – stressing China’s path towardsharmony between humans and natureduring President Xi’s address to the PartyCongress. Vincent Zheng, ManagingPartner, Capital First Partners, China,explained that President Xi’s ‘Thought onSocialism with Chinese Characteristics fora New Era’ shall ensure and improve livingstandards through development, and itderives from his focused, determined andcommitted leadership. ‘Overall China isaiming towards its Two Centenary Goals,’said Doris Fischer, Chair of ChinaBusiness and Economics, University ofWuerzburg, Germany. The first goal is toend poverty and double Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) and per capita income from2010 levels, and to complete the buildingof a moderately prosperous society by2020 which will be one year before the100th anniversary of the 1921 founding ofthe Communist Party of China (CPC). The second centenary goal is to become a‘prosperous, strong, democratic, culturallyadvanced and harmonious modern socialistcountry’ by 2049 to celebrate 100 years of

Virtual ribbon cutting ceremony

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the founding of the People’s Republic ofChina in 1949. These two goals with theirintermediary sub-goals were discussed inone panel session chaired by Pieter Perrett,Professor, University of Applied SciencesNorthwestern Switzerland, Switzerlandcoming to the general conclusion ‘... theseare ambitious plans.’

‘The initial massive push by China toeradicate poverty was within China’s manycommitments to the UN Millennium goalswhen millions of Chinese people were raisedover the poverty line,’ said Wang Chengxi,Co-founder and Vice President, EmergentLLC. ‘To eradicate poverty completely is aharder task,’ added Herbert Chen Wu,

Editorial Director, The Economist GlobalBusiness Review, China. Stanley Loh,Chief Executive Officer, World CapacityBuilders, Canada, held that ‘over the pastdecades a vast new infrastructure has beenbuilt for transport, agriculture and waterdelivery as well as new towns completed(with their own detailed eco-infrastructu -res) to house the rural migrants that flowas wealth increases – these achievementswill support and aid future growth.’ Thesepoints of Chinese development were men -tioned through the meeting in panels andplenary sessions. For instance, reflecting onthe massive growth of Chinese tourism bypeople who are now wealthy enough toafford holidays, Rafael Cascales, Pre -sident, Spain China Tourism Association,Spain noted the massive scale presenteddifficulties, even in Spain, which is Europe’slargest holiday venue counting visitornumbers; ‘... it is a new model, and wehave to come to a new understanding ofhow to give value to the rapidly increasingnumbers of visitors’.

The 19th Party Congress noted the elec tionof six new members to the Standing Com -mittee of the Political Bureau of the CPCCentral Committee and President Xi opinedthe CPC will continue efforts to accomplish

Barry Piper, Chairman, The British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai and Bill Thomson, Founding Partner, Sino-Scot

Marian Sudbury, Northern Powerhouse Director, Department for International Trade, on behalf of the UK Government

Xiong Meng, Executive Vice Chairman, China Federation of Industrial Economics

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Opening Plenary ‘China andWorld Economic Outlook’

all the tasks laid down in the 13th Five-YearPlan: to develop new blueprints for China’sfuture, and to see the flourishing of all theendeavours, especially to establish a mode -ra tely prosperous society across all metricsby 2020. President Xi said the Party mustremain committed to a people-centredphilosophy of development to make steadyprogress toward enhancing the people’ssense of fulfilment and to realize a commonprosperity for everyone. Importantly forforeign observers, he said China will workwith other nations to build a global com mu -nity with a shared future, and make new andgreater contributions to the noble cause ofpeace and development for all humanity.

The latter points encapsulate how Presi dentXi’s goals absorb President Trump’s earlydecision to abandon the Trans-PacificPartnership – further emphasised at theNovember 2017 APEC meeting in Vietnamwhen President Xi stressed globalisation andharmony while President Trump stressedUS inward isolation. However, in contrastto the current US views, China has longconsidered the redevelopment of the oldSilk Road – but as a modern forward-looking initiative crossing Central Asia by land, and by re-developing ancient searoutes from China to Europe.

President Xi Jinping’s official announce -ment of his One Belt One Road plan inNovember 2013 came as a surprise... toconnect 65 countries with a combinedpopulation of 4.5 billion to boost longterm global growth. President Xi statedthat the Belt and Road (B&R) as it is nowknown, is predicated upon building afuture for mankind that improves globalgovernance and shared benefits. In thisHorasis China Meeting we heard plenaryspeakers and panel discussants who con -sidered the commercial opportunitiespresented by the B&R, not only for end-to-end trade but also within the hubs en-route.The current terminals of the B&R, such asthe Wapping, London freight depot that

Song Minwang, Vice-Chairman,Fujian Tea Society, China

Guan Jianzhong, Chairman, Dagong Global Credit Rating, one of the co-chairs

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received its first train-load of containersfrom China in January 2017 represents, ineffect, the potential for joint developmentacross a wide range of enterprises, opinedRza Aliyev, Deputy Secretary General,Nizami Ganjavi International Center,Azerbaijan. And Stiphan Beher, Advisorto the President of the Kyrgyz Republic,Kyrgyzstan even stressed that China isbuilding-out ‘the one road, one belt and onering’ initiative as its trade routes encirclethe globe.

For many Chinese executives BREXIT is butone uncertainty in a world preoccupied bychange. The elections throughout Europehave seen political alliances usurped by newpopulist parties: for instance, in October

2017 Catalonian people voted to secedefrom Spain; the future Italian elections arepotentially worrying for EU bureaucrats asseverance arguments are being mooted.Further, the relations of the UK and the EUwith the US are uncertain given PresidentTrump and his Administration has beenslow to create policy statements. Even so,the China-Britain Business Council findsChinese firms in the UK are broadly con -fident up to the point of the UK leavingthe EU; and also afterwards, as newopportunities for trade will open up.Chinese delegates, like Chen Liang,Managing Director, China Civil AviationInvestment Fund Management, China,noted that the UK is a good place to be: it has fair land and office prices, and forincoming Chinese manufacturers the UK’sfinancial system is open, its people welltrained, and the logistics infrastructuresare in place for materials supplies as well asfinished good dispersal throughout Europeand the globe. According to May Liu,Chairman, May Group International, China,there will be initial difficulties while newrules, regulations and customs and taxationrules settle down, but most importantly,the governments of China and the UK havestated their intent to achieve a smoothtransition and increase two-way investment.

Zhao Jiasheng, Vice Chairman, China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association

Florence Biot, Co-Founderand Executive Director, Asia Centre, France

Jarvous Chen, Managing Director,Sinda Corporation

DavidWright, Senior Advisor, Barclays International

Herbert Chen Wu, Editorial Director, The Economist Global Business Review

Stanley Loh, Chief Executive Officer, World Capacity Builders, Canada

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The agreement in 2016 by the IMF toinclude the Chinese RMB into its basket ofcurrencies has created a more resilient globalinvestment climate. The IMF designated anew Special Drawing Right valuation basketto include the RMB as a fifth currencyallowing it to become a freely useablecurrency world-wide. ‘With this comes anew responsibility for Chinese bankers whichis borne out by comments during the 19thPeople’s National Congress as President Xicontinues to press for develop ment alllevels,’ opined Alastair Campbell, Chair -man, Bridger, Hong Kong. Following thePeople’s Congress and just after this Horasismeeting China has offered to open up itsBanks to foreign investors up to a limit of51%, a change hinted at by Xu Qingen,Group Chairman, Shanghai Capital Group,China.

The Opening Plenary upon ‘China and WorldEconomic Outlook’ noted the risks at thetop of the global agenda in 2017-2018,including commentary on the roll-out of the Chinese economy was chaired byJames Kynge, Emerging Markets Editor,Financial Times, United Kingdom. GuanJianzhong, Chairman, Dagong GlobalCredit Rating, China noted how creditrating in general needs to be developed

(perhaps offering a hint of the latest movesby the Finance Ministry to open up foreigninvestment in Chinese banks) which willbring in new expertise to the Chinesesystems. Pierce Riemer, Director Gene -ral, World Petroleum Council, UnitedKingdom reminded us of the very strongcommitment by China to become more‘green’ as it has repeatedly strengthenedits decarbonisation and low-carbon energytargets. For instance it plans to reduce‘emissions intensity’ (the volume of emissionsproduced relative to economic activity) bymore than other major economies. ‘Thelargest challenge is to meet these targetswith its huge population that will demandmore and more electrical energy,’ saidZhao Jiasheng, Vice Chairman, China

Xu Jin, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of China to the UnitedKingdom, speaking on behalf of the Chinese Government

Pierce Riemer, Director General,World Petroleum Council

James Kynge, Emerging Markets Editor, Financial Times, chairing the opening plenary

Chen Liang, Managing Director, China Civil Aviation Investment Fund Management

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Nonferrous Metals Industry Association,China. David Wright, Senior Advisor,Barclays International, United Kingdomalso noted how the liberalisation of the RMBwould lift global growth through bettertrading fundamentals. Jiang Zili, ViceChairman, Beijing Automotive Group, Chinawas sure that the Chinese automotive in -dustry would expand: incorporating electricvehicles and even with increased levels ofautonomy – but level 4, fully automatic,will be some years away. He was cautions,suggesting some ‘black swans’ might becircling: we all have to pay attention.

After lunch we heard panel members of thesecond plenary considering how we would‘Embrace China’s New Normal’ a phrasecapturing China’s new development whichwould pass through a transition from an‘investment driven development strategythat propelled three decades of growth toone of highly knowledge-intensive growth,’as Yuan Mingli, Co-founder and ChiefTechnology Officer, Caiyunapp.com, Chinaput it. This plenary was chaired by BaronJean-Christophe von Pfetten, Fellow atEmmanuel College, Cambridge University,UK. Lord Alderdice, Member of theHouse of Lords, UK suggested that Chinaneeds geo-political stability that can beachieved through strong leadership basedon an understanding of history – a worry isof a 3rd global conflict based in cyberspacewherein there are, as yet, no Rules ofEngagement. Emmanuel Justima, ChiefExecutive Officer, Modricenir, Haiti alsostressed the need for political stabilitygiven the apparent lack of US weight inthe international arena. FinTech is coming

‘The Chinese automotive industry will further expand, incorporatingelectric vehicles’Jiang Zili, Vice Chairman, Beijing Automotive Group, China

Paul McNeill, Managing Partner,Resonance, China

DeborahWince-Smith, President, United States Council on Competitiveness

Jiang Zili, Vice Chairman, Beijing Automotive Group

Emmanuel Justima, Chief Executive Officer,Modricenir, Haiti

Yuan Mingli, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer,Caiyunapp.com

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to the fore as is an increasing intensity ofknowledge-based resources development.Lu Yuebing, Chairman, TsingRay Invest -ment Management, China suggested theold normal growth of 10% will decreaseto 6% which may cause some concern. Lucy Niu, Executive Director, ResearchCenter of Pacific Studies, China noted thatthe desired inwards investing firms ought toresearch carefully as ill-directed invest mentwas wasteful.

A third plenary, before the closing dinner,was concerned with ‘Making GlobalisationWork’ noting how the many threads ofglobalisation have raised living standardsthrough wide-spread integration and tradebut contrariwise ‘the West seems to be de-globalizing whereas China is advancingglobalization,’ as Sun Shengming, ViceChairman, Ginwa Investments HoldingGroup, China put it. This session waschaired by David Schlesinger, Founderand Managing Director, Tripod Advisors,Hong Kong. Anson Chan, Chairman,

Bonds Group of Companies, Hong Kongnoted how voters were rebelling globallyagainst the status quo, but that was ‘the oldmodel’. We need a new model of behaviourto raise beliefs in leaders and mankind.Deborah Wince-Smith, President, Uni -ted States Council on Competitive ness, USAnoted how large scale simulation modelscan advance pharmaceutical developmentthus massively reducing the duration offield trials. ‘China is the world’s new engineof globalization,’ concluded Zhi Peng,Executive Vice President, Tsinghua AssetManagement Group, China.

The closing dinner speeches were con -cerned with ‘The New China Context’noting that China, in the midst of sound

‘The liberalisation of the RMB will liftglobal growth through better tradingfundamentals’David Wright, Senior Advisor, Barclays International, United Kingdom

Sun Shengming, Vice Chairman, Ginwa Investments Holding Group – making globaliation work

Lucy Niu, Executive Director, Research Center of Pacific Studies, China

Lord Alderdice, Member of the House of Lords,United Kingdom

Zhi Peng, Executive Vice President, Tsinghua Asset Management Group

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economic development, will shape thecourse of global business for the rest ofthe 21st century and its path might besupported by other nations. Chaired byNigel Knowles, Chairman, Sheffield CityRegion, United Kingdom who briefly notedhighlights from the day’s panels and whointroduced Xiong Meng, Executive ViceChairman, China Federation of IndustrialEconomics, China to give his closingremarks. Mr Xiong suggested China andUK highly complemented each other interms of industrial structure, internationaldivision of labour, R&D and innovation

capabilities, and with the competitiveadvantages of products. They also sharesimilar visions, wide common interests,and a broad prospect of cooperation. And,given the many years of cooperation ofCFIE and Horasis, he stated this meetinghas gradually established its brand andincreasingly gets known in the businesscircles in China and Europe – playing apositive role in strengthening economicand trade relations between China andUK, and China and Europe at large, andgenerates more cooperation opportunitiesfor the world.

Olav Ermgassen, Founder and Managing Partner,Ermgassen & Co., UK

Opening dinner at the Cutlers’ Hall

Lu Yuebing, Chairman, TsingRay Investment Management

Kristel Van der Elst, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Global Foresight Group

Anson Chan, Chairman, Bonds Group of Companies, Hong Kong

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SummaryBy University of Sheffield

Introduced in 2005, Horasis China Meetinghas become one of the foremost globalbusiness gatherings on China. The 13thHorasis China Meeting 2017 was convenedon 5-6 November in Sheffield, the UnitedKingdom, co-hosted by the Sheffield CityRegion and the China Federation ofIndustrial Economics. The two uni -versities in the Sheffield City Region – theUniversity of Sheffield and SheffieldHallam University acted as AcademicPartners and provided academic, reportingand logistic support. More than 300 par -tici pants from businesses and governmentsjoined an intense two-day programmedesigned for senior decision makers fromChina and the world to identify businessopportunities and innovative approaches to economic development.

The meeting was held in the backgroundthat China’s economy is in a critical stageof transformation and upgrading, whilestill faced with a number of challenges and obstacles. China is making headway inoptimising its economic structure, improving

the quality of its economy and accumu la -ting momentums for new growth. Under theguidance of the new development conceptof ‘innovation, coordination, green, open -ness and sharing’, China actively adaptsitself to and leads the new normal of eco -nomic development on its way to a moreefficient, fair and sustainable economy.

In 2016, Chinese economy has made newprogress. China’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) reached 74.4 trillion RMB, up by6.7% year on year, contributing over 30%to the global economy growth. Chinaranked the world’s largest exporter and thesecond largest importer for 8 consecutiveyears while its total volume in service traderanked second in the world. Its foreigninvestment came second in the world witha substantial increase of 44% in 2016 whileits foreign direct investment (FDI) inflowranked third globally. While the quality and

‘China and UK highly complementedeach other in terms of industrialstructure, international division of labour, R&D and innovationcapabilities, and with the competitiveadvantages of products’Xiong Meng, Executive Vice Chairman, China Federation of Industrial Economics, China

Andreas Hube, Vice President, SAP, Germany

Plenary ‘Boosting China’s Private Sector’

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efficiency of the development have beenmarkedly improved, the development ofnew technologies, new types of businessand new economic patterns have also beenaccelerated.

As Xiong Meng, Executive Vice Chair man,China Federation of Industrial Economicsstated in his speech, China and UK sharesimilar development visions, many commoninterests and a broad prospect in coopera -tion. Mr. Xiong addressed that China andBritain, ranking second and third respec -tively in the world service trade, have hugepotential in cooperation in service tradewhich can be a new growth point for

bilateral cooperation. He also suggestedthat China and Britain should strengthenthe cooperation in financing platforms byfully tapping into the unique advantages ofLondon as the leading global financial centreto better serve infrastructure constructionalong the routes of the ‘Belt and RoadInitiative’. In addition, UK’s R&D anddesign capacity in high-end sophisticatedindustries such as bioscience and technology,low carbon and clean energy, high-techmaterials, information and communicationtechnology, aerospace, pharmaceuticals andtransportation equipment can match up to‘Made in China 2025’ strategy, especiallyin conducting joint scientific research withChina.

‘The UK wants to build on its relationshipwith China, which has strengthened signifi -cantly in recent years, and establish a soundpost-Brexit dialogue,’ said Nigel Knowles,

‘The UK wants to build on itsrelation ship with China, which hasstrengthened significantly in recentyears, and establish a sound post-Brexit dialogue’Nigel Knowles, Chairman, Sheffield City Region, United Kingdom

Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Group, India

Wang Chuntao, General Manager,Avic Automation Co., China

The China Federation of Industrial Economics welcomed by the Sheffield City RegionPeng Hongsen, Co-founder, Techbridge Innovation, China

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Chairman, Sheffield City Region, UnitedKingdom. The UK could be central toChina’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative,with the UK developing into a hub forconstruction and design competencies aswell as other professional services linkedto China’s outbound plan.

Nigel Knowles also introduced SheffieldCity Region, a region located in the centreof UK’s Northern Powerhouse, by empha -sising its heritage, resilience and learning.He said: ‘We are proud of our heritage as a place at the heart of the IndustrialRevolution. Our resilience has enabled usto emerge from the decline of large scaleindustrial production with industrial ledresearch and collaboration throughlearning – both now at the heart of oureconomic future.’ ‘We are moving moreinto health care, advanced manufacturingtechniques, material science, digital andmedia. We are a fast growing region withall the right ingredients to attract all theright people who want to establish theirpresences here ... Sheffield City Region isblessed with great advices, whether theyare legal, financial, banking, everythingyou can possible want, is in this region.’He added at the ‘Heritage Resilience andLearning’ session.

With all the cooperation prospects in mind,conference participants discussed a widerange of issues related to China and its neweconomic leadership role. With the UK’shistoric decision to leave the EuropeanUnion, the summit also reflected on theimplications for Chinese firms.�

‘China will work with other nations to build a global community with ashared future’Hu Liyong, Chairman, Juru Asset Management Group, China

Hu Liyong, Chairman, Juru Asset Management Group

Alastair Campbell, Chairman, Bridger, Hong Kong

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Christina Bastin, Portfolio Manager, Muzinich, United Kingdom

Andrew Storer, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Nuclear AMRC, UK

Roy Chan, Co-Managing Partner Mainland China, DLA Piper

Paul Hardy, Brexit Director, DLA Piper, United Kingdom

A major theme for discussion was the 19thNational Congress of the Communist Partyof China (NCCPC) held in late October2017 where president Xi Jinping unveiledChina’s path towards the future. Accordingto Hu Liyong, Chairman, Juru AssetManagement Group, China, interpretingthe results of the NCCPC, ‘China willwork with other nations to build a globalcommu nity with a shared future.’ ‘China’seconomic development is shifting fromhigh-speed growth to a higher-qualitydevelopment stage,’ said Guan Jianzhong,Chairman, Dagong Global Credit Rating,China. ‘Modernisation would be moremultifaceted than just GDP growth,incorpo rating greater concern for social

well-being,’ added Jiang Zili, Vice Chair -man, Beijing Automotive Group, China.Still, ‘there won’t be dramatic fluctuationsin economic growth in the coming period,’as Deborah Wince-Smith, President,United States Council on Competitiveness,USA put it. Wince-Smith also stated thatChina’s macroeconomic environment re -mains favourable, with low inflation, highsavings rates and moderate levels of debt.

Already now, ‘China makes impressivestrides in innovation,’ pinpointed LordAlderdice, Member of the House ofLords, United Kingdom. ‘The internatio -nal community places high hopes on Chinato further liberalise its capital market,’David Wright, Senior Advisor, BarclaysInternational, United Kingdom, said. ‘Chinais making prominent progress in terms ofmarket efficiency, technological readiness,and higher education,’ Peng Hongsen,Co-founder and Chief Executive officer,Techbridge Innovation, China, added.

‘China’s macroeconomic environmentremains favourable, with low inflation,high savings rates and moderate levelsof debt’DeborahWince-Smith, President, United States Council on Competitiveness, USA

Sheffield Master Cutler Kenneth Cooke

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Plenary session on globlization

Paul Taylor, Chief Advisor,Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric

Zhang Ying, Associate Dean,Rotterdam School ofManagement, The Netherlands

China’s Investment in the UK and the world, and the Implications ofBrexit for Chinese Firms

China’s outbound investment has beenhigher than inbound for the last few years.This momentum is beginning to create newmarket leaders, breaking the dominantpositions of Western multinationals. Thesession ‘China’s Global Expansion’ discus sedthe opportunities and challenges Chinesefirms are facing today in their investmentin the Globe.

Roy Chan, Managing Partner MainlandChina, DLA Piper, China believed Chinesecompanies are now more confident ofbuying foreign assets, and the acquisition hasalways topped the headlines in the nationalnewspapers. ‘Things have changed. Theyhave become very strong.’ Mr. Chan said.

Zhi Peng, Executive Vice President,Tsinghua Asset Management Group, China,provided a perfect example of Chinese hi-tech companies in Zhongguancun Science& Technology Zone, the Silicon Valley ofChina, investing in the world. Ms. Zhihighlighted two strengths of the invest -ment – global experiences and local teams.‘We have a very strong team in North

America and we have a strong educationbackground in North America with strongindustry experience ... We also have verysolid local services and local teams in Europewho are European people’, she stated.‘Historically, people invested using cash,whereas nowadays people use foreign cur -rency to do foreign investment,’ she added.

Zhi Peng’s example partly provided asolution to the challenges that was putforward by Jerry Zhang, Chief Execu tiveOfficer, Neocomm Broadband, China :• How do Chinese investment companieseffectively communicate with their localpartners, especially cross-culturally.

• How to ally with the interests of thelocal partners, and do the local partnersshare the vision?

• How do Chinese investment companiesmeasure the performance of local part -ners and executive teams?

When asked ‘With the increase of Chineseinvestment abroad, the Chinese govern -ment begins to examine foreign projectsseriously. At the same time, Europeancountries have stepped up their censorshipof Chinese investment. With the pressureof such double challenges, will investmentin the Europe from China maintain its

During a networking break Jerry Zhang, Chief Executive Officer, Neocomm Broadband

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trend of expansion?’ Guan Jianzhong,Chairman, Dagong Global Credit Rating,China responded: ‘Strict review is not a badthing. It just needs to be more standardised.Chinese companies should not investwithout considerations ... it must fit thenational interests and future capital marketdemands. This is part of the adjustment ofthe economic structure. Such control makesthe direction of investments more accurateand the investment value more significant.’

Other challenges included rebrandingChina’s image in the world. Mentioned byThomas Eymond-Laritaz, ManagingDirector, Mercury, United Kingdom, Chinais the only country with higher percentage

of distrust than trust. This raises a massiveproblem for the expansion of China. ‘Trustis what we know, and distrust is what wedon’t know ... Do US and Europeanpeople know about China? Very little’. Headded. Mr. Eymond-Laritaz suggested thatpublic diplomacy could help overcomingthe negative image. Other than that, Chinashould also:• present itself to the world and shareexperiences, and

• let more people to learn about Chineseculture. ‘If more people know aboutTaichi and Acupuncture, the imageswould change.

It was concluded that China as a globalpower will continue to expand their foreigninvestment in the near future with stan dar -dised government control. More workshould be done to rebrand the image ofChina in the world. Additionally, Chinaalso needs to look wider and allow morecountries to be part of the China Dream.So, what are the impacts of Brexit onChinese investments?

In his opening dinner speech, Xiong Meng,Executive Vice Chairman, China federationof Industrial Economics, China stated:‘though the future of Brexit is uncertain, it

Stiphan Beher, Advisor to thePresident of the Kyrgyz Republic,Kyrgyzstan

Paul Xie, Founder, Kunpeng Online

Zhou Lu, Executive President, Confederation of Chinese Business UK

Julie Kenny, Board Member, Local EnterprisePartnership, Sheffield City Region

Henry Shterenberg, Chief Executive Officer, UGTI Inc, Ukraine

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did not shake China and UK’s determina -tion and confidence for closer cooperation.’According to Mr. Xiong, in 2016, bilateralcommodity trade volume basically remainedstable, showing resilience and vigor againstthe backdrop of a weak global economy.Meanwhile, despite the financial marketvolatilities and uncertainties in the wake of Brexit, Chinese enterprises have main -tained a good momentum in investing inthe UK. China’s investment in the Britishnuclear power plant at Hinkley Pointoffers a great example.

In the next morning’s Boardroom Dialoguesession ‘Investing in the UK’, Mr. Xiong’sopinion was echoed by the panelists.According to Julie Kenny, Board Member,Local Enterprise Partnership, Sheffield CityRegion, and Zhou Lu, Executive Presi -dent, Confederation of Chinese BusinessUK, United Kingdom, Brexit is a goldenopportunity for Chinese investors to investin the UK. All panelists believed that UK isan international country, Brexit won’t re -strict its openness and internationalisation.

In the same session the panelists indicated aneed for a transition time to allow UK andits business connections with other countriesto adapt to new rules after Brexit.

Meanwhile they were also concerned aboutthe uncertainty brought by Brexit, whichwould in term slow down small businessinvestment decision making process.However, they pointed out that even so,the collaborative investments would stillbe powerful in the UK due to UK’s strongbrand awareness in the world.

Jeffries Briginshaw, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, British-American Business Council,United Kingdom summarised: ‘I think thecases for investing in the UK has beenestablished many many years, centuries,and is deeply rooted, and I have no doubtwhat so ever, that the route would continue

Kai Hu, Founder, EverGreen Academy, China

Urs Lustenberger, President, Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce, Switzerland

Jeffries Briginshaw, Chief Executive Officer, BritishAmerican Business

Wang Shaojin, Deputy General Manager, Shanxi Coking Coal Group

May Liu, Chairman, May Group International and Kevin McCabe, Chairman, Scarborough Group International

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sustain growth for the years to come ... I think what we acknowledged, from thepanel, is that Brexit is not a good thing ...But overall, we remain optimistic aboutthe case for investing in the UK.’

The Implication of China’s politicalenvironment – ‘One Belt One Road’and the 19th National ChineseCommunist Party Congress

China’s recent political environmentimplies that China’s economy is facing aseries of transformations. The session

China’s Grand Trade Strategy focusedon China’s Belt and Road Initiative and itsimpact.

The Chinese government proposed theOne Belt One Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013.It is an initiative to encourage the commu -ni cation of business, culture and economyamong the countries along the new silk road.In recent years, China has also signed manyFree-Trade-Agreements (FTA) with countriesall around the world to let both sides reapbenefits from it. The Central Governmentproposed that they encourage innovationto create more trade opportunities.

Adnan Akfirat, Chairman, TUCEMTurkish-Chinese Business Matching Centre,Turkey stated: ‘BRI is not just for tradecooperation but it is a tool for establishinga more equal and stable society. It is a goodchance to keep the peace.’ ‘It is a tool tobring countries together, unite forces andshare competitive advantages,’ he added.Lu Yuebing, Chairman, TsingRay Invest -ment Management, China, suggested: ‘BRIbrings opportunities to the UK from China.We will see how Chinese work with de ve -lopers and to collaborate in areas such asinnovations, technologies, researches, and IT.’Anny Gao, Managing Partner, C-Bridge

Georges Sudarskis, Founder and Managing Director,Sudarskis & Partners

Tan Peitao, Managing Director,CUKCN

Anny Gao, Managing Partner, C-Bridge International Trading Stacy Kenworthy, Chief Executive Officer, HellaStorm, USA, on the power of Chinese innovation

Adnan Akfirat, Chairman, TUCEM Turkish-Chinese Business Matching Center, Turkey

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International Trading, China, mentioned:‘The Government is not trying to dictatethe BRI; it is trying to discuss and heardifferent opinions.’ ‘However, there arealso some countries where BRI has hadnegative effects. For example, in India, BRIcaused confusion so India proposed its ownmaritime links to Africa and to Japan’ saidJohn B. Kidd, Research Fellow, AstonBusiness School, United Kingdom.

China also signed many FTAs with othercountries. Benefitted from the FTAs, AnnyGao commented: ‘with FTA regulations inplace, we can give our customers betterprices. We need more FTAs between diffe -rent countries so that business can benefitfrom them,’ she suggested. The critics camefrom Alex Russin, Partner, Marina LLC,United Kingdom: ‘When China implementthese programme, they do it with completeindependence and isolate themselves fromlocal communities ... they cannot reach out(because of lack of knowledge of locallanguage and cultures) and inevitablyencounter obstacles.’

It was concluded that the ‘One Belt OneRoad Initiative’ can bring benefits to allcountries along the route. Everybody canimpact others when BRI gets deeper and

deeper and impacts will be for the majority.It is about a peaceful development and willbring more opportunities to internationaltrade. In addition, the panelists also agreedthat although during the enforcement FTAsencountered obstacles because of culturaland language barriers. An open approachto forward its own ambitions can helpother countries to reach their own goals.

The 19th National Chinese CommunistParty Congress (NCCPC) was also a popu -lar topic in various sessions. Lucy Niu,Executive Director, Research Centre ofPacific Studies, China suggested: ‘Foreigncompanies have to study the NCCPC report

Luigi Gambardella, President,ChinaEU, Belgium

Vincent Zheng, Managing Partner,Capital First Partners, China

John B. Kidd, Research Fellow, Aston Business SchoolDoris Fischer, Professor, University of Wuerzburg, Germany and Liu Jingyi, Editor-in-Chief, Global China Insights

Ninel Seniuk, Lecturer, MGIMO University, Russia

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to understand China’s economic transitionand industrial reform.’ The 19th NCCPChighlighted that China’s economy has beentransitioning from a phase of rapid growthto a stage of high-quality development –New Normal. Recognising the transition,Lu Yuebing, Chairman, TsingRay Invest -ment Management China commented: ‘inthe future, we should have new thinking ofnew normal. The UK has a very stronginnovating ability, and China has a bigdomestic market ... The China market will grow even bigger because Chinesegovernment will encourage increase of percapita income and domestic market driven

growth.’ Mr. Lu added: ‘In the UK orEurope, it takes about half a year to findall the suppliers to make a product. In theUS, ... it takes probably 3 months. But inChina, probably 2 weeks because theintensity of the competition is much higher.It is very good for technologies to be com -mer cialised, to scale up in a very short time.So that’s why I came up the idea: China plusUK equals to US.’

Emmanuel Justima, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Modricenir, Haiti, commented onthe New Normal: ‘We understand thatChina’s economic shift is based on tech -nology exportation as the foundation, ofcompetitive advantage.’ ‘We need to buildtechnology based plans. That’s what Chinais doing well today, understanding that thetechnology based planning is the source ofcompetitive advantage,’ he added.

We need to build technology basedplans. That’s what China is doing welltoday, understanding that technologybased planning is the source ofcompetitive advantage’Emmanuel Justima, Chief Executive Officer, Modricenir, Haiti

Alexander Batchvarov, Managing Director, Merrill Lynch

Reflecting on the trends shaping the future of China’s capital markets

Martin Haemmig, Visiting Professor, Renmin University, China,asking a question

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The 19th NCCPC also highlighted thatChina will continue to open its door to theworld, and it will become more and moreopen. China will significantly ease marketaccess and protect the legitimate rights andinterests of foreign investors.

Welcoming the policy, the session ‘ForeignFirms in China’ concluded that if theforeign industry knows China and followsall its rules and practices, they will be ableto find and seize many opportunities. Themost important thing to remember is thatChina always welcomes foreigninvestment. Bill Thomson, FoundingPartner, Sino-Scot, United Kingdomdiscussed China’s social and environmentalconditions for foreign investmentopportunities. He said: ‘The Chinesegovernment is doing a lot about air andwater pollution, but not much aboutcleaning up the land. UK companies havetechnologies for that ... Food safety is amajor issue in China, as the people arericher this problem is more evident. Importsof food are growing ... Healthcare is also agrowing industry, as well as education ...One interesting area for investors is ageingcare.’

At the session Reforming China’s CapitalMarket, Du Yuejin, Member of the Board,China Fortune Media Group, China alsodiscussed the 19th NCCPC’s implicationon China’s capital market. He said: ‘In the19th NCCPC, president Xi presented threesteps to improve China’s capital markets.The first step is to further expand and open,this is becoming an essential trend for thedevelopment of Capital market. We shouldimprove the existing interconnections(Shanghai-London), and open securities forfinancing to foreign investors and improvethe global service network to develop OneBelt One Road Initiative for the world.

Alan X. Chen, Chief Executive Officer, Zailairen Valeon Information Technology Inc.

James R. Lee, Managing Partner,Lee & Partners, Denmark

Anne-Marie Martin, Chief Executive, COBCOE, UK

Shi Wenjie, Associate Professor, Central University of Finance and Economics

George Iliev, Director, Association of MBAs, United Kingdom, making a point

Deepak N. Lalwani, Chairman, Lalcap, United Kingdom

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The second step is promoting China’s capitalmarket reform, such as further improvingthe multi-level market system, promotingmarket-oriented distribution, pricingmechanisms and building more effectivemarket listing mechanisms. Finally, thethird step is improving the financial super -vision system in order to prevent systemicrisks from happening.’

Participants also discussed the risks andchallenges to China’s flourishing growth ofeconomy, and the potential solutions at thepolitical level. Guan Jianzhong, Chair -man, Dagong Global Credit Rating, China,gave his insights on China’s debt at the

Opening Plenary: China and World Econo -mic Outlook: ‘From 2008-2016, China’sdebt growth increased at an average of21.4% per year, while economic growth is8.4% per year. China needs to establish anational and global debt management modeland we can not completely allow the marketto operate it.’

When he was asked to elaborate on theidea of ‘global debt management model’,Mr. Guan responded: ‘This model of debtmanagement sets up a system based on thesource of the debt and the macroeconomicaggregate. To consider the main body ofthe debt sources of the countries, and theability of debt repayments for each of them,a sustainable scientific evaluation system isneeded. It should be elevated to the heightof state governance, and a statistical systemof state credit information and debt infor -ma tion should be established, and enforcedby law.’

‘China’s economic development isshifting from high-speed growth to ahigher-quality development stage’ Guan Jianzhong, Chairman, Dagong Global Credit Rating, China

Panellists of plenary ‘Joining Hands for Innovation’ with Frank-Jürgen RichterZhang Ting, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Crayfish.io

Edgar Bullecer, Co-Founder and Managing Trustee, The Paglas Group, Philippines

Li Ruoran, Vice President, EIFFinancial Leasing, China

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Education, Entrepreneurship and Innovation

‘China is no longer aiming only at the GDP growth. They are focusing on qualitygrowth. To realise that goal, China willhave to develop all kind of industries,innova tion and creative industry in par -ticular.’ Alexander Wan, Former SeniorAdvisor, China Daily Asia Pacific, HongKong suggested in session ‘Joining Handsfor Innovation’.

Ken Hu, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, HKE Technology, USA commented:‘I believe the real innovation is to empowerand engage the spirit of modern Chineseentrepreneurs ... I believe the future ofreal innovation with Chinese entrepre neursspirit is to transfer and translate local idea,to something that is with much big impact,to the max.’

So, how to cultivate Entrepreneurship?The panelists at the session ‘CultivatingEntrepreneurship’ the Role of Youth had aheated discussion. It was agreed thatpassion, confidence and resilience are themost important factors when it comes toyouths building their own entrepreneur ship.Liu Chenchao, Chief Executive Officer,

Silreal, Germany concentrated on theimportance of resilience: ‘if you fail, itdoesn’t mean you did anything wrong, yourresilience should come from it.’ Mr. Liualso added: ‘A sense of responsibility is veryimportant. Every Chinese youth shouldkeep their confidence and responsibility inorder to achieve success.’ Harrace Lau,Co-founder of eOneNet.com, Hong Konginsisted ‘Passion with persistence is veryimportant.’ Zhang Ting, Founder andChief Executive Officer, Crayfish.io,United Kingdom believed that enjoyingthe journey of entrepreneurship is just asimportant as the result.

Metin Guvener, Chairman,Triangle Group, UK

Diana Skelton, Deputy DirectorGeneral, ATD Fourth World, France

Angie Hobbs, Professor of Philosophy, University of Sheffield, chairing a panel on China’s youth

Liu Chenchao, Chief Executive Officer, Silreal

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It then comes to the question that wasasked by Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor,the University of Sheffield, United King domat the session ‘Educating for a New Age’:‘In the future, do we need universities any -more? These days people are encouragedto be more entrepreneurial.’ Increasinglyglobally disruptive technologies demandconstant lifetime education to return peopleto work. And being entrepreneurial requiresbeing interdisciplinary, as Han Tianqi,Founding President, China APEC YouthDelegates Network, China stated. Han arguedit is the interdisciplinary quality of youngChinese entrepreneurs that westernersfocus on the most, and ‘being inter discipli -nary will create more interesting ideas.’

The panelists at the session ‘Educating fora New Age’ agreed that universities areneeded as ‘universities have a key role inpreparing agenda for students in adaptingto this new world.’ Stated by TimothyNichol, Dean, Liverpool Business School,United Kingdom. Nichol added: ‘the twomain purposes of universities are that wemust look after the interests of the studentsand the implementation of technologies tohelp overcome barriers.’ Nichol then putforward three suggestions: First, universi tiesneed to look at the attitudes and attributives,see how they are adaptable in the future.Second, the universities should providelife-long learning opportunities in subjectsincluding science, technology, mathematics,and from a business perspective, manage -ment. Third, universities need to lower thebarriers to ensure knowledge is beingcreated every day, and continuously engagewith the community.

A different voice came from the session‘Reading China’s 13th Five-Year Plan’.Peter Helis, Vice Chair, European UnionChamber in South China, China argued: ‘Weneed to convince the Chinese that we needvocational trainings for blue collars ... Innova -tion and entrepreneurship doesn’t just come outof universities but from vocational training.’

Matthias Kamp, Correspondent,WirtschaftsWoche, Germany

Brian J. Grim, President,Religious Freedom & BusinessFoundation, USA

Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sheffield, UK

Han Tianqi, Founding President, China APEC Youth Delegates Network, China

Harrace Lau, Co-founder, eOneNet.com, Hong Kong SAR

Ken Hu, Chief Executive Officer, HKF Technology, USA

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How can British and other global educa tio -nal institutions develop the skills that Chinaneeds to adapt to the technologically fastmoving world? Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sheffield, UnitedKingdom has his answer. Burnett stated thatuniversity degree level study can be com -bined with vocational training by introducingSheffield’s two universities’ degree-levelapprenticeship programme. The program mehelps plug a vital engineering skills gap inindustry and provide an alternative routeinto higher education for young people.The programme uses the expertise of theUniversity of Sheffield’s highly successfulAdvanced Manufacturing Research Centre(AMRC) Training Centre and Hallam Uni -versity’s multi-disciplinary Materials andEngineering Research Institute (MERI),offering young people the opportunity topursue study at university alongside real-life work experience. Burnett showed theaudience a photo of a group of apprenticesand said proudly: ‘They just started theirstudy at the AMRC this September.’ Thismodel can be used to train the next genera -tion of Chinese young people in research,engineering and manufacturing.

In addition, Jin Yuxian, Chairman, CIEInternational Education Group, China

believed the most important element ofeducation is the people. Mr. Jin set up hiscompany to recruit foreign teachers forChinese universities and schools. ‘onemillion well-trained English teachers areneeded in China.’ He claimed. However,he admitted that foreigners need to havecertain qualifications to work in China andthe policy to restrict foreigners working inChina has been tightened recently.

Filling the Cultural Gap

Along with the rapid increase of economicgrowth in China, Chinese companies arenow going through transformation and

Yves Decadt, CEO, BioLingus,Switzerland

Ali Osman Ozdilek, Member ofBoard of Directors, GD HoldingA.S, Turkey

Steve Haake, Professor, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Session chair Alexander Wan, Former Senior Advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific

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upgrading to accommodate internationalbusiness markets. Foreign firms are alsostepping into the Chinese market. However,problems lead by differences on culture,language, law, philosophy of life, etc. arecritical challenges for both sides. Thesedifficulties exist on both business level andindividual level.

Many participants have already recognisedthe cultural and language challenges in doingbusiness with China. At the ‘NavigatingChina’s Geopolitics’ session, ChitraNarayanan, Associate Fellow, GenevaCentre for Security Policy, Switzerland

advised companies: ‘we should deal with the‘culture crossover’ and cultural difference.’‘Know your market, it was easier 20 yearsago, now it is very selective, even in theconsumer market, you need to be sure thatthere is a demand for your product andhow to deliver it’ said Bill Thomson,Founding Partner, Sino-Scot, United King -dom during the ‘Foreign Firms in China’session. At the same session, RobertoDona, International Business SchoolSuzhou, China suggested ‘We can’t evaluateChina by our own parameters: it’s anemerging country but also its alreadydeveloped, it depends from what side youlook at it.’ The list goes on.

Another critical issue foreign investors arefacing is the Chinese company’s organisationculture. China opens its doors to everyonewho wishes to do their business there, butthey must follow the Chinese rules. However,as a famous lawyer, Liu Hongchuan,Partner, Broad & Bright, China pointed outat the ‘Reshaping Corporate Governance’session that Chinese company law emphasisesthe role of the outsider, meaning super -vision and investigation on behalf ofshareholders and society. The system is notwell developed, and it currently facingmany practical difficulties. Meanwhile,

Deborah Harry, Chief Finance and Planning Officer, SheffieldHallam University

Liu Hongchuan, Partner, Broad & Bright, on China’s global trade Timothy Nichol, Keith Burnett and Jin Yuxian

Roberto Dona, Professor, International Business School Suzhou

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Tuck Seng Low, Member of Board, Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce, Switzerlandproposed that ‘China must realise there areother channels of communication, not justboardrooms. Currently a non-Chinesestakeholder will not be aware of going onsoutside of the boardroom, due to thebusiness culture within China now.’ A largeconcentration of shareholders at present mayalso lead to manipulation and colludingwithout the knowledge of these foreignshareholders.

Recently, security laws and regulations hasbeen strengthened in China, but the tradi -tio nal way of governing need some newconsideration. Deepak N.Lalwani, Chair -man, Lalcap, United Kingdom, concludedthat all companies should have good corpo - rate governance. ‘Good corporate policieswill be beneficial to China’s expansionand give investors confidence about theirfunding’s security.’ Mr. Lalwani notedWarren Buffett said: ‘It takes 20 years tobuild a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.’Reshaping corporate governance can be agood way for a company to protect its brand.

Talking about brand, China has strong brandsin the market. How can these be promoted – so as to boost economies of scale but

without damaging the authentic image ofwhat customers wish to perceive as typicalChinese? During the ‘Chinese Brands –Creating Awareness of A Rich Variety’session, Louis Houdard, Founder,Creative Capital, China pointed out the bigissue of many companies in China have isthat their trademark is famous, but peopleare not able to describe the products.‘Technology brands are different to con -sumer brands, there is a lot of room forimprovement in the consumer brandsmarket. When you have a brand, you don’tneed to learn what a brand represents, itcomes automatically.’ In the same session,

Philippe Monnier, Member of theBoard,WayRay, Switzerland

Hao Yabin, Executive ViceChairman, China Video Industry Association, China

Roger Eccleston, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Chitra Narayanan, Associate Fellow, Geneva Centre for Security PolicyPieter Perrett, Professor, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, chairing a panel

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Song Minwang, Vice Chairman, Fujian TeaSociety, China, mentioned another majorissue for Chinese brands is its quality. Therehave been many brand image damages dueto fake products and bad quality. Besides, if you want to establish a brand image, youmust have an innovative spirit. ‘Innovationand being trustworthy is very important.The railway road in China is the strongestbrand in China right now. Chinese tea isalso a strong brand which is a heritage brandthat can have an international presence.’

Dina Ding, Founder, Elephant Luxuries Co.,France, believes that ‘foreign countries, dueto their lack of knowledge, are struggling

to develop their businesses in China.China, on the other hand, is quickly gettinga foot in the global market.’ Her currentjob requires her to help French brandsenter the Chinese market, and createsinternational mixed culture brands. One waysuggested by Emmanuel Justima, ChiefExecutive Officer, Modricenir, Haiti is toteach people how to use the Chineseproducts, he quote a word from Bill Gates‘the more he does for others, the more hedoes for himself.’

Cultural related issues are also taking placeat an individual level. There is no doubt thatChina is now the biggest source of inter -national travel. Rafael Cascales, President,Spain China Tourism Association, Spain,pointed out in the ‘Making sense of China’sbooming tourism’ session, ‘Chinese touristsneed to learn to respect the Spanish lawand culture while they are traveling in thecountry.’ Moreover, in the ‘Joining Hands forInno vation’ session, Zhang Xiaodong,Chair man, Winhops Investment Co., Chinasaid: ‘A lot of Chinese students suffer failurewhen they wish to establish their ownbusiness after graduating from overseasuniversities, as there is still a wide gapbetween Chinese and Western develop -ment. Those who suffer, would need those

Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy, The City College of New York and Wang Chengxi, Co-founder, Emergent LLC

Richard Li, Managing Partner,Success Mark, Hong Kong

James Kong, Assistant SecretaryGeneral, TheWorld Federation ofConfucius Descendents

Dina Ding, Founder, Elephant Luxuries Co.

Rafael Cascales, President, Spain China Tourism Association

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entrepreneurs who equip with wider globalsense, to advice on how they should localisetheir ideas.’

From all the examples above mentioned bythe participants, it’s safe to say that gene -ral misconceptions between the East andWest still exist today. Chinese business isbecoming more adaptable to different cul -tures, though there is still a long way to go.Western countries cannot evaluate Chinaby looking at it through a western-centredperspective. China, in all its complexity, mustbe deeply understood by whoever wishesto have any kind of relationship with it.

China, the Future Leader of the World?

Undoubtedly China has become a globaleconomic giant today. In turn it starts toplay a decisive role in responding to recentpolitical disputes. This has increased thetensions between China and the West. Thediscussion of whether we can find a win-win situation in the future became one ofthe talking points at the meeting.

Lou Marinoff, Professor from the CityCollege of New York, USA, facilitated a

breakfast session to talk about differentpolitical ideologies, as well as how busi -nesses can influence and overcome culturalhesitations. Lord Alderdice, Member ofthe House of Lords, UK pointed out thatan increasingly powerful China is accom -panied by an increasingly weak west, whoare an inward looking set of nations.Democracy is arguably under greatestthreat for long time, but this period ofinstability opens up the possibility for itssubstantial development.

Julia Häusermann, Founder & Presi dent,Rights & Humanity, Switzerland looked atthe tensions from the point of view of the

Zhang Xiaodong, Chairman, Winhopes Investment Co., ChinaOlga Godinho, Chairman, Safe Deposit Bank of Norway

Oltmann Siemens, MemberInternational Advisory Board,International Finance Forum,China

Olive Yanli Hou, Managing Director, Olive’s Choice Creative

Toomas Danneberg, Vice Rector, Estonian BusinessSchool, Estonia, making a point on branding

Colin Sirett, Chief Executive Officer, AMRC, UK,chairing a panel

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US, EU and the UK. She argued that it isinevitable that when a country like US feelstheir dominance is under threat, it feelsinsecure. Their fear of communism is stillthere and deep rooted in western psyche.Obama reached out to China as a partner,but in contrast, taking Trump’s tweet thatsaid climate change was a myth created byChina as an example, this attitude and hiswithdrawal from the Paris Agreement, hasopened up a space for China – China isbecoming a world leader.

‘As far as the EU is concerned, negativerelations have been improved throughcooperation. Human rights dialogues have

been held twice a year. As well as theChinese investments in the UK, such as inSheffield.’ She also pointed out that contri -butions of China to sustainable developmentgoals have been adopted by the UN. Mainglobal players have worked together in orderfor development, such as the ‘One belt, OneRoad’ initiative. UN see this as a way of fasttracking success for sustainable development.

As a culture adviser, Chitra Narayanan,Associate Fellow, Geneva Centre for SecurityPolicy, Switzerland stressed the importanceof acknowledging that China is now a politi -cal, economic and military superpower. In order to deal with the new world, ‘Youshould avoid causing offence in China,otherwise a company might find them -selves in a difficult and hard to resolvesituation.’ The panelists concluded that theworld is desiring a strong leadership, andChina could fulfil this role.

The recognition of China as the future globalleader was also strengthened at one of theafternoon Boardroom Dialogue Sessions‘China’s Grand Trade Strategy’, chaired byYu Hailing, China Business Adviser, China-Britain Business Council, United Kingdom. The Panelists agreed that by proposing theOne Belt One Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013,

Andrew Bate, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Safely, USA

Louis Houdart, Founder, Creative Capital, China

Plenary ‘Embracing China’s New Normal’, chaired by Baron Jean-Christophe von Pfetten

Julia Häusermann, Founder and President, Rights and Humanity,Switzerland

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China took the initiative to encourage thecommunications of business, culture andeconomy among the countries along thenew silk road. Adnan Akfirat, Chairmanof a Turkey-Chinese Business MatchingCentre, Turkey commented: ‘BRI is not justfor trade cooperation but it is a tool forestablishing a more equal and stable society.It is a good chance to keep the peace, agood solution in preventing World War.’He then added: it ‘creates a new model forpromoting an amicable relation instead ofone that is dominating.’ Mr. Akfirat’sopinion was echoed by Bryan Yang, ChiefExecutive Officer, Inspiration Inc., China.He said: ‘China acts as a benevolent bigbrother ... sets strategies to reach out toother countries by offering assistance, suchas rebuilding new water systems, roads, andtrain lines.’

Abdulaziz A. Albakr, President, Busi nessManagement Technology, Saudi Arabiacom mented that when China implementsthese programmes, they do it with com -plete independence (in Chinese, bringingin Chinese labours), and isolate themselvesfrom local communities. They are inadver -tently crea ting a little bit of tension betweenwho they are and the assistance they areproviding in the country. They cannot reachout because they don’t speak the locallanguage. There fore, obstacles will beencountered.

In addition, Guan Jianzhong, Chairman,Dagong Global Credit Rating, China put

‘The Sino-British trade structure couldbe further optimized – China’s exportsto Britain could be extended fromtraditional labour-intensive productsto high-end manufacturing and infra -structure and other high level industries’Allen Qu, Chief Executive Officer, Netconcepts China

Cheng Ichin, Co-founder,Sustainable Innovation Lab

Thomas Eymond-Laritaz,Managing Director, Mercury,United Kingdom

Allen Qu, Founder, Netconcepts China

Yu Hailing, China Business Advisor, China-Britain Business Council

Bryan Yang, Chief Executive Officer, Inspiration Abdulaziz A. Albakr, President, Business Management Technology, Saudi Arabia

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forward an interesting point in the OpeningPlenary that the United States no longer hasthe capacity to create wealth in the future.The Euro also may not necessarily be ableto undertake the international liquiditycarriers, not to mention the Yen. However,RMB could assume such a role, ‘under theimpact of One Belt One Road, (RMB)replacing the US dollar is just around thecorner.’

So what both China and the west should do to adapt to this new normal? At thePlenary: Embracing China’s New Normal,Lord Alderdice, Member of the Houseof Lords, United Kingdom summarised:‘the west needs to deepen their under -standing on different history and cultureand politics of China, and understand thatChina probably is not going to be the west.It’s also important for China to understandthe same things of the west. The west is nothomogeneous ... It has different historyand perspectives. And those things need tobe respected as we engage with each other.If we don’t engage, the future is difficultand probably conflictual. If we do engage,there’s much to gain.’

‘The West needs to deepen itsunderstanding on different history and culture and politics of China’Lord Alderdice, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom

Fred Wang, Chairman, Salon Films Group of Companies, Hong Kong, asking a question

Plenary ‘Building the Start-up Nation’

Bessie Lee, Founder, Withinlink, China

Plenary session on Sheffield’s heritage, resilience and learning

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Conclusion – Making Globalisation Work

The 13th Horasis China Meeting witnessedmore than 300 participants discussing anddebating on China’s economic and politicalimpacts on global business, and its role inshaping the new economic world, whereglobalisation is the key. According to ZhiPeng, Executive Vice President, TsinghuaAsset Management Group, China, the manythreads of globalisation have raised livingstandards through wide-spread integrationand trade. Presently, the West seems to bede-globalising whereas China is advancingglobalisation. The closing plenary discussedthis core issue: how do we achieve the bestmix of globalisation in China and the West?

David Schlesinger, Founder and Mana -ging Director Tripod Advisors, Hong Kongstarted the session by stating ‘For those ofus who support and are benefited by glo -balization, the positive of the interconnec tedworld seems benefit many people. We seeopportunity, we see exchange, trade, under -standing and excitement. But for those onthe other side of it, the dark side of theglobalization seems equally clear. They seerising inequality, they see jobs lose, andnever replace.’ Globalisation is a double-edged sword. Sun Shengming, ViceChair man, Ginwa Investments Holding

Group, China, added: ‘China has grippedbenefited of globalization, and it willcontinue to do so.’

Anson Chan, Chairman, Bonds Group ofCompanies, Hong Kong argued: ‘Institutionneed to change, if they don’t change, theywould fail. We now come to a point thatunless government can effectively addressthe losers who do not benefit ... unless we

‘China has gripped benefits ofglobalization, and it will continue to do so’Sun Shengming, Vice Chairman, Ginwa Investments Holding Group, China

Rza Aliyev, Deputy SecretaryGeneral, Nizami GanjaviInternational Center, Azerbaijan

Paul Maidment, Managing Editor,Oxford Analytica

David Schlesinger, Founder and Managing Director, Tripod Advisors, Hong Kong, chairing the closing plenary

Stan Fung, Managing Director, FarSight Ventures with Alf Erik Lundgrenn, Chairman, Nordic Invest, Latvia

Jason Jin, Chairman, iFuturaction Networks Sophie Power, Chief Executive Officer, Airlabs, UK

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address this issue, I think there will bemany contradictions between the demo cra -tic form of government and the continuousof globalization.’ Deborah Wince-Smith,President, United States Council onCompetitiveness, USA commented onAnson Chan’s point: ‘we are in a timewhere ... labour is arbitrage in real time24/7. Anything that can be digitize,routined, standardized overnight, can bemoved to another part of the world for it’sproduction. So that’s one of the things hascosted huge change in how we live, work,

and where investment has made, where thecapital goes ... the change is so rapid and isso accelerated that these institutions arevery hard to keep up with the change.’

David Schlesinger closed the session byquoting President Xi Jinping from the 19thParty Congress: ‘no country alone can handleall the challenges a mankind faces, and nocountry can retreat from self-isolation. As abeneficiary of and contri bu tor to economicglobalisation, China’s development is theopportunity for the world.’

Tsutomu Ishiai, London Bureau Chief and European Editor, The Asahi Shimbun

Song Peng, Vice President, Urban Development ConsultingInstitute, NDRC

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The University of Sheffield (UoS) Reporting Team

Frenie Hanjin Jia MA in Global Journalism, UoS

Xiaoyun Liu MA in Global Journalism, UoS

Clark Hanqiu Zhen MA in Global Journalism, UoS

Shu Cheng MA in Global Journalism, UoS

Jiejun Zhou MA in Global Journalism, UoS

Xiangyi He MA in Global Journalism, UoS

Nicola Unwin BA in Chinese Studies, UoS

Danielle Walsh BA in Chinese Studies andBusiness Management, UoS

Nadia Aleo BA in Chinese and BusinessManagement, UoS

Jessica Lum BA in Chinese Studies, UoS

Rebecca Yau BA in Chinese Studies, UoS

Sam Shepherd BA in Chinese Studies, UoS

Yiyun Ling Place and Sheffield China GatewayProject Officer, UoS

Fengyong Zhang Project Manager, Sheffield Confucius Institute

Lizhe Wang President of China Scholars &Students Association, UoS

Yongchen Yang Marketing Officer of China Scholars& Students Association, UoS

Inez Ying Tung Lau BA in Journalism Student, UoS

Carman Leung BA in Journalism Student, UoS

Sherry Shi MA in Broadcast Journalism, UoS

Danyang He MA in Global Journalism, UoS

Yutong Wang MA in Global Journalism, UoS

Jun Wang MA in Global Journalism, UoS

J.T. Li, Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

Sunil Godhwani, Former Chief Executive Officer,Religare, India

Winners of the Horasis China Business Awards with their prizes at the packed Sheffield Cathedral

An opportunity to share ideas and insights in an informal setting

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...ask me anything you want to know about the Horasis China Meeting. Closing dinner at Sheffield’s Cathedral, the ancient heart of a great city

Participipants sharing a light moment

Delegates meeting during a coffee break

Panellists on the changing conditions of foreign Firms in China

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How to Read a Cathedral with Richard Taylor University of Sheffield student EmilyWilliamsperforming the song 龙文 (long wen)

Sheffield welcomes participants

Visiting Chatsworth House which has been home of the Cavendish family since 1549.

World-renowned musicians, from Shanghai Conservatory of Music, presenting an awe-inspiring performance.

Men’s chorus during the opening dinner

Participants were invited to join a guided tour to explore Sheffield.

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How to get involved

Horasis meetings are supported by selected partner companies that contribute their expertise and resources to Horasis by setting the agenda of its meetings. Our partners share with us the belief that the future can only be inspired through joint efforts within a visions community.

The following partnership schemes are currently on offer:

Global Partner Strategic Partner Knowledge Partner Networking Partner

Duration 1 year One meeting One meeting One meeting

Meetings (Global, Asia, India, China)

All of one year One meeting One meeting One meeting

Logo Main backdropAlongside Horasis logo

Side backdrop Side backdrop

Booth Booth in registration area

Speaking slots Introducing a politician

Chairing a plenary session

Chairing a dialogue session

Chairing a plenary session

Chairing a dialogue session Chairing a dialogue session

Further offerings Hosting of a reception Presenting the Award Hosting a coffee break

Delegates 10 5 3 2

Please contact Horasis for further information.

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Horasis: The Global Visions CommunityBurgstrasse 8CH-8280 KreuzlingenSwitzerland

phone +41 79 305 3110fax +41 71 686 50 59

www.horasis.org