ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

Time: April 20th - April 21st    Location: Harvard Kennedy School

The China Conference is the annual conference organized by the Greater China Society at Harvard Kennedy School that fully leverages the unique status of Harvard Kennedy School, bringing together leaders from academia, government, business, and the nonprofit sector. The China Conference will seek to create an open space for cross-disciplinary dialogue, cross-sector cooperation and exchange of ideas and innovations. 

Over the past three years, the conference brought together over 40 guest speakers, more than 500 in-person participants, and over 10k live-stream viewers to engage in topics ranging from the roles of China and the U.S. in the global economy to the opportunities and challenges of local governance in the two countries.

This year's conference will feature high level speakers to open the conference. The keynotes and panels will span two days from April 20th to April 21st with other accompanying programs and events that will further discussions and engagement between speakers and participants.

Agenda and Speakers

April 20, 2024 (Saturday)  

8:00–8:30     Registration                     Sunshine Lobby

8:30–9:30    Opening Remarks            JFK Jr. Forum
1.    XIE Feng, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of The People’s Republic of China to the United States of America 
2.    Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government and former Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government 
3.    XUE Lan, Dean of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University   

9:45–10:45     Keynote: The Resilience of US-China Relations under the Co-opetition Era       
1.    XUE Lan, Dean of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University   
2.    Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government and former Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government 
3.    SUN Zhe, Founding Director of the Center for U.S.-China Relations at Tsinghua University 
4.    Susan Thornton, former U.S. acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs 
5.    Moderator: Tony Saich, Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

11:00–12:15     Panel: AI Global Governance    
1.    Angela Zhang, Associate Professor of Law, Director of Philip K.H. Wong Centre for Chinese Law, HKU (Online) 
2.    ZHANG Linghan, Professor at the Institute of Data Law, China University of Political Science and Law and Member of High-Level Advisory Body on AI, United Nations (Online) 
3.    Leonie Beyrle, Adjunct Lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School, and Research Manager of the Public Interest Tech Lab at Harvard
4.    Jason Zhou, Senior Research Manager, Concordia AI (online) 
5.    Moderator: Lucas Schmuck, Master in Public Policy Student, Harvard Kennedy School 

12:15–13:15     Lunch Break 

13:30–14:45     Panel: Semiconductor & Geopolitics* 
1.    Han-Koo Yeo, former trade minister of the Republic of Korea, PIIE Senior Fellow   
2.    Mark Wu, Director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University and the Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law at Harvard Law School 
3.    Byron Gill, Managing Partner, Portfolio Manager, Indus Capital Partners 
4.    W. Patrick Wilson, Vice President of MediaTek 
5.    Moderator: Jason Hsu, Edward Mason Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School   
*This event is closed to media and Chatham House Rule applies.

15:00–16:15     Panel: China and Southeast Asia Relations
1.    Gita Wirjawan, Former Minister of Trade of Indonesia and Chairman of Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board   
2.    Rana Mitter, Professor at Harvard Kennedy School and former director of the Center for China Studies at Oxford University 
3.    Moderator: Esther N.S. Tamara, Master in Public Policy Student at Harvard Kennedy School   

18:00–20:00    Guest Reception Dinner (invite-only)            Harvard Faculty Club
1.    Welcome Remarks: James Chau, President, China-United States Exchange Foundation; World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador (online)   

April 21, 2024 (Sunday)

8:00–8:15     Registration                                  Sunshine Lobby

8:15–8:30    Remark: The Role of Multilateralism in Shaping Global Macroeconomics                       JFK Jr. Forum
1.    Sir Daniel Alexander, Vice President for Policy and Strategy at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)   

8:30–9:45     Keynote: Prospects of China’s Growth and Global Economic Order   
1.    Fred Bergsten, Director Emeritus of PIIE (online) 
2.    Yasheng Huang, Epoch Foundation Professor of Global Economics and Management at MIT Sloan School of Management   
3.    David Daokui Li, Mansfield Freeman Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for China in the World Economy (CCWE), School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University  (online) 
4.    Sir Daniel Alexander, Vice President for Policy and Strategy at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)  
5.    Tony Saich, Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School   
6.    Moderator: Sam Yu & Matthew Yunzhe Nie, Master in Public Policy Students at Harvard Kennedy School 

10:00–11:15    Panel: Decarbonization in China: Challenges and Policy Options 
1.    ZHU Xufeng, Professor and Dean at the School of Public Policy and Management, and Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals, Tsinghua University (online) 
2.    Henry Lee, Jassim M. Jaidah Family Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Program within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School   
3.    Chris P. Nielsen, Executive Director, Harvard-China Project on Energy, Economy and Environment 
4.    Moderator: Jun Gao, Ph.D. Student in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School 

10:00–11:15    Panel: Understanding the Evolving China-MENA Relations             Wexner-330
1.    Ayham Kamel, Practice Head, Middle East & North Africa, Eurasia Group 
2.    Jesse Marks, Middle East Policy Advisor and Inaugural McCain Fellow in the U.S. Government, Non-Resident Fellow at the Stimson Center
3.    DUAN Jiuzhou, Council Member, China Middle East Society, and Assistant Researcher, Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University (online) 
4.    Moderator: Weiwei Liu, Master in Public Policy & Master in Business Administration Joint Degree Student at Harvard Kennedy School & Harvard Business School 

10:00–11:15    Panel: China and Africa: New Chapter            Wexner-332
1.    Patrick Achi, 8th Prime Minister of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire 
2.    Takele Banti, former Minister for Mines Petroleum of Ethiopia 
3.    PANG Xinxing, Founder and Chairman of StarTimes (online) 
4.    WANG Xinsong, Associate Professor, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University 
5.    Peter Kagwanja, President of the Africa Policy Insitute 
6.    Moderator: Harry Zixin Wang, Master in Public Administration (International Development) Students at Harvard Kennedy School   

11:15–11:30 Quick Lunch Break 

11:30–12:00 Fireside Chat: The Importance of Understanding China with a Holistic and Nuanced Perspective
1.    Jing Qian, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Center for China Analysis, Asia Society (online) 
2.    Matthew Yunzhe Nie, Master in Public Policy Students at Harvard Kennedy School   

12:00–13:00 Panel: Professionals and Rising Leaders on China & U.S.-China Relations     
1.    Chris Li, Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, and Schwarzman Scholar 
2.    Brian Wong, Rhodes Scholar, Assistant Professor in Philosophy, University of Hong Kong (online) 
3.    Lizhi Liu, Assistant Professor in the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University   
4.    Thomas Tianyi Liu, Founder, Global Managing Partner, and CEO of Policy Nexus 
5.    David Chen, Affiliated Researcher at Center for China Analysis, Asia Society, and Schwarzman Scholar (online) 
6.    Hao Chen, Research Fellow at Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, Harvard Kennedy School 
7.    Moderator: Aileen Tam, Master in Public Administration Student at Harvard Kennedy School 

13:00–13:30     Closing Remarks 
1.    WANG Yi, Executive Director for University Programs, Harvard Center Shanghai 

Check out our conference website for more detailed agenda: China Conference Website

ABOUT THE ORGANIZER

The Greater China Society is the student organization at Harvard Kennedy School that brings together students to discuss a wide range of topics related to China and to celebrate Chinese culture and traditions. Boasting a legacy of over two decades, it is committed to enriching the student's academic and cultural experiences and fostering a vibrant community of students and scholars who are interested in China.

Due to high demand and limited number of seats, reception dinner tickets have been sold out.