Center For Business

Global Council

China Institute’s Global Council Roundtable is a small quarterly gathering for the Institute’s corporate members and supporters to discuss pressing issues pertinent to the evolving global business environment. This one-hour meeting is an off-the-record and interactive small convening with about 20 senior executives. Guest speakers will kickstart each roundtable with insights on a subject, followed by free-flowing discussion among peers.

Spring 2022 Global Council Meeting: 
State of the Chinese Economy Roundtable Discussion 

Tuesday May 31, 8:45 AM EST

What are the material impacts of Shanghai’s lockdown on the Chinese economy? Shanghai, still under pandemic lockdown restrictions, is a significant economic engine for China. However, the Chinese firewall has cast obscurity for the world from evaluating the Chinese economy comprehensively. Furthermore, newly promulgated data security laws concerning data collection, storage, use, and transmission, make it even harder for outsiders to gauge the actual state of the Chinese economy. Therefore, we have invited two experts who live in Shanghai to share their views about the current state of the Chinese economy and the prospects of dual-circulation and national self-reliance strategies.

Both subject experts currently live in Shanghai. Cameron Johnson will speak in person to our senior executives in New York. They will share their first-hand knowledge taking the economic pulse from the ground:

  • Cameron Johnson, Head of APAC Strategy, FAO Global, & NYU Adjunct Faculty (Shanghai); and
  • Joel Gallo, CEO, Columbia China League Business Advisory, & NYU Adjunct Faculty (Shanghai)

Past Meetings

Winter 2022 Global Council Meeting: 
Evolving Global Supply Chain: Efficiency vs. Resilience 

Wednesday, February 16, 2022, 9 AM EST

The ongoing pandemic is another wake-up call for many industrial companies. Supply chain disruptions in one part of the world can have ripple effects globally. Companies and executives are questioning the long-held values of just-in-time & minimal inventory, elimination of redundancy, and cost-saving. Indeed, supply chains are becoming much more costly to manage with the need for on-shoring and supplier diversification. How can companies avoid abrupt disruptions while keeping costs in check? Is it even possible? Our two subject experts will share their insights with our participating senior executives.

  • Irina Fan, Director of Research, Hong Kong Trade Development Council; and
  • Christine McDaniel, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University

Summer 2021 Global Council Meeting:
Digital Yuan, Latest Fintech & Crypto Trends

Thursday, September 9, 2021, 9 AM EDT

Zoom meeting. By invitation only. RSVP required.

For questions or to request an invitation, please email [email protected]

Fintech is a high-growth industry with global impacts. The significant rise in interest in cryptocurrencies and CBDC (central bank digital currencies) may entail enhanced regulations and scrutiny. Our panel experts will discuss how China has become a global leader in fintech innovations and applications and what it means for users, investors, and corporations worldwide.

Summer 2021 Global Council Meeting:
Environmental, Social and Governance Considerations in Corporate Decision-Making

Friday, July 9, 2021, 11 AM EDT

Zoom meeting. By invitation only. RSVP required.

For questions or to request an invitation, please email [email protected]

Nowadays, senior executives often make business decisions looking beyond their financial bottom line. With the gradual re-opening of businesses and our overall economy post-pandemic, how shall senior corporate executives create positive ESG impacts in corporate decision-making?

Featuring:

Mr. Zimman received his Bachelor’s degree from the California State University at Chico, and Master’s degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As Director of Communications at BROAD U.S.A., he guides BROAD U.S.A.’s communications strategy toward the modular building and HVAC industries to increase market impact and brand awareness. Mr. Zimman is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and brings over 25 years of experience in marketing and sales operations for global companies across Asia and in the United States.

BROAD is the inventor of “B-CORE”™, a prefabricated hardened stainless steel structural material that is lighter yet far stronger than carbon steel, and enables residential towers and tall commercial buildings to be built very fast without the use of concrete. A B-CORE™ Building System delivers increased energy efficiency, limitless service life, material savings, and unprecedented speed of construction.

Lily S. Trager is a Managing Director and the Director of Investing with Impact and Head of Impact Solutions for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Since 2006, Lily has dedicated her career to sustainable and impact investing. Lily joined Morgan Stanley in 2014. In her current role, Lily works to provide individual, family and institutional clients with investment products, solutions, research and tools to capture the opportunities and mitigate risks posed by key sustainability and impact themes.

Previously, Lily worked for Veris Wealth Partners in New York, a Registered Investment Advisory focused exclusively on serving clients with interest in sustainable and impact investing, most recently as Head of Research & Due Diligence. Lily began her career at Cambridge Associates in Boston, where she worked on teams overseeing $3.9 billion in nonprofit, high-net-worth and foundation investment portfolios.

Lily was named to the 2018 class of MAKERS @ Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, a recognition that celebrates women who are ground breakers, advocates, and innovators in their given field.

Lily earned a M.B.A in Sustainable Business from Presidio Graduate School (formerly Bainbridge Graduate Institute) and her B.A. in Anthropology from Bates College. She also co-founded Women Investing for a Sustainable Economy (WISE) in 2012, a professional networking group with eight global chapters. Lily and her family live together in Manhattan.

Winter 2020 Global Council Meeting: Post Election CFIUS & Investments from China

Tuesday, December 1, 2020, 12:00 – 1:00 PM

Zoom meeting. By invitation only. RSVP required.

As a central provision of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), Congress broadened the purview of CFIUS and directed CFIUS to issue regulations specifying mandatory filings for certain foreign investments involving critical technologies. This roundtable reviews the recent implementation of the final rules and identifies potential strategies for ongoing Chinese investment activities in the U.S.

Featuring:

Pin Ni is President of Wanxiang American Corporation, a wholly owned US subsidiary of Wanxiang Group Company, China’s largest automotive components manufacturer based in Hangzhou, China. Wanxiang is one of the most successful Chinese corporate investors in the United States, having acquired and turned around numerous troubled facilities in the Midwest.

Catherine Pan-Giordano, Partner and Corporate Group Head at Dorsey & Whitney LLP’s New York office, leads the firm’s globally recognized U.S.-China transactional practice. Catherine serves as a member of the Firm’s Management Committee, the executive body of the Firm.

As a highly skilled attorney and trusted advisor, and one of the most prominent Chinese-speaking business lawyers in New York, Catherine is relied on by her clients to handle their strategic corporate transactions and to solve complex legal problems for their business. She has a strong client following among some of the world’s largest corporations, financial institutions and business leaders. She frequently serves as their chief outside legal counsel.

Justin Huff, Partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP. Prior to entering private practice, Justin served as a Deputy Director in the United States Department of the Treasury office responsible for chairing CFIUS. Justin led the review of hundreds of CFIUS filings and conducted in-depth national security analyses on transactions across a wide range of industries, including biotech, agriculture, technology, telecommunication, real estate, energy. Justin also engaged in extensive inter-agency communications and consensus building with the eight other agencies on the CFIUS committee. Prior to his Treasury role, Justin held senior positions with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

After serving in the federal government for over a decade, Justin entered the private law practice and has advised domestic and international clients on CFIUS regulations and their impact on hundreds of high-profile cross-border corporate transactions.

Summer 2019 Global Council Meeting

August 1, 2019

Andy Purdy, Chief Security Officer, Huawei Technologies USA, and U.S. security, tech, and law experts, including Catherine Pan, partner, co-chair, U.S.-China Practice at Dorsey & Whitney, Paul Triolo, Head of the Geo-Technology Practice at Eurasia Group, and Douglas Fuller, Associate Professor at the City University of Hong Kong, discuss U.S.-China tech competition, the race for 5G, and the current U.S. government policy on Huawei Technologies.

China Institute gratefully acknowledges Dorsey & Whitney, LLP for hosting the Summer 2019 Global Council Meeting.

Additional Photos

Global Council 8.1.19: Huawei and the U.S.-China Tech Battle

Fall 2018 Global Council Meeting

November 27, 2018

In the midst of escalating conflicts and tensions between China and U.S., China Institute’s latest Global Business Council featured candid and insightful conversations between Hank Greenberg and Yue-Sai Kan on U.S.-China Business: Navigating Troubled Times, data-driven analysis and talk on China’s economic reform by Nicholas Consonery of Rhodium Group, and a riveting briefing of China’s green tech investment opportunities with Barbara Finamore of NRDC. China Institute gratefully acknowledges EY for its support of the Fall 2018 Global Council Meeting.

Additional Photos

Global Summit 2018