Dr. Henry Huiyao WANG is a well-known Chinese expert on China and globalization issues, on global migration, global talent, overseas Chinese, students, returnees and on Chinese firms going global and MNCs in China.

He is the Founder and President of Center for China and Globalization (CCG), a top independent global think tank in China ranked 64th globally in the 2020 Global Go to Think Tank Index (GGTTI) by the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Wang is also a Counselor to the State Council of China, having been appointed in this capacity in 2015 by Premier Li Keqiang. He also serves as Vice Chairman of MOFCOM’s China Association for International Economic Cooperation (CAIEC); Vice Chairman of the China Talent Research Society; and as a Director of MFA’s Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, among other positions.

Dr. Wang was an official with the then Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (now MOFCOM), where he focused on China’s outbound investment. Later in Canada, he was appointed as the Chief Trade Representative for the Quebec Government Office in Hong Kong and Greater China. His senior corporate positions include Director of Asia at SNC-Lavalin and Vice President for AMEC-Agra in Canada. He also had extensive experiences in international organizations, having served as Advisory Board Member of UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), and an advisory expert for the World Bank, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Alliance of Global Talent Organization (AGTO).


Dr. Wang has also taught at Peking University, Tsinghua University, University of Western Ontario and was a visiting fellow at Brookings Institution and a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. He is currently the Dean of Institute of Development of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and a member of Advisory Committee for Global Competence Development at Tsinghua University. He also sits on the Advisory Board of Duke Kunshan University and Richard Ivey Business School.

After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in English and American Literature from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Dr. Wang pursued advanced studies and earned an MBA and a PhD degree in international management with distinction at University of Windsor, the University of Western Ontario and University of Manchester successively.

Barbara Li is the Head of Corporate of Rui Bai Law Firm based in Beijing and also leads the TMT and FinTech practices. With almost three-decades’ solid experience working at the Beijing and London offices of leading international law firms as well as in-house role, Barbara brings a wealth of enormous expertise in advising international companies, financial institutions and Chinese businesses on doing business in China and globally.

Barbara has a particular interest in TMT and FinTech sectors, with extensive experience advising international and Chinese companies, financial institutions, tech companies and PE funds on achieving data and cybersecurity compliance and managing risks related to digital transformation and deployment of emerging technologies such as AI, big data, cloud and blockchain. Barbara is widely recognized in Corporate, M&A, TMT and FinTech categories and she won the China Top TMT Lawyer Award 2020 ranked by Asian Legal Business.

Barbara works closely with the industry and she is frequently invited to write and speak at reputable international and regional professional and industry conferences and events. She is ex-vice chair of the Cybersecurity Sub-Working Group of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.

She is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales and also holds the PRC Bar Qualification Certificate. She is bilingual in English and Chinese.

David is a proven authority in creating sustainable, innovative partnerships between companies and non-profit organisations, that create value on a global scale. Over the last 25 years, working for the Olympic Movement and the World Economic Forum, David has created, curated, and led communities that have changed the world for the better. Most recently as the Chief Representative of the World Economic Forum in Beijing, he specialised in building empathetic bridges between China and the global business community. Launched the WEF’s “ESG Champions for China” community of CEOs.

Alfredo is responsible for overseeing The Economist Intelligence Corporate Network in Beijing. Based in China since 2013, he has focused on analysing the business implications of policy, economic and political developments for companies investing and operating in China, and in the broader Asian region. This with the aim of distilling complex issues and conveying clear takeaways on how to capture business opportunities and respond to emerging challenges.

Before joining The Economist Intelligence Corporate Network, Alfredo was Associate Director for KPMG's Global China Practice, where he led and contributed to numerous thought leadership projects, including flagship reports, customised business briefings, and policy proposals for Chinese authorities. He also played a large role in events programming and outreach, including leading the design and coordination of high-profile events aimed at senior executives. Prior to that, Alfredo worked for J Capital Research, Eurasia Group and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Alfredo has a Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) from Georgetown University, and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from Mexico's Center of Research and Teaching in Economics (aka. CIDE).