17th annual conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations
“Global Impacts on the U.S.-China Economic Relationship”
Thursday, December 11 | HKU iCube, Two Exchange Square, Central, HK
Register
You are cordially invited to the 17th Annual Conference on China's Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations -- for the first time to be held in Hong Kong. The conference theme is "Global Impacts on the U.S.-China Economic Relationship." The conference features leading scholars from the U.S., China, and other countries, who present research on a wide range of issues.
The day-long conference will take place on Thursday, December 11, at the University of Hong Kong's iCube conference facilities. The conference is co-organized by GW's Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP), HKU's Asia Global Institute (AGI), and HKU's Centre for Contemporary China and the World (CCCW). The official conference airline is United Airlines. The conference is proudly supported by Regal Hotels and HKU's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center.
Keynote Speakers:
Peterson Institute for International Economic Policy; Australia National University; McKibbin Software Group
- Bio
Warwick J. McKibbin, AO, FASSA, is Distinguished Professor of Economics and Public Policy and director of the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA) in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU). He joined the Peterson Institute for International Economics as nonresident senior fellow in September 2023. He is also director of policy engagement and ANU node leader of the Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) and director of research at the McKibbin Software Group. McKibbin is Distinguished Public Policy Fellow of the Economic Society of Australia, Distinguished Fellow of the Asia and Pacific Policy Society, and a fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (London).
Read full biography.
N.T. Wang Professor of Chinese Business and Economy, Columbia University; former Chief Economist, Asian Development Bank
- Bio
Dr. Shang-Jin Wei is N.T. Wang Professor of Chinese Business and Economy and Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and School of International and Public Affairs.
During 2014-2016, Dr. Wei served as Chief Economist of Asian Development Bank and Director General of its Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department. He was ADB’s chief spokesperson on economic trends and economic development in Asia, advised ADB’s President on economic development issues, led the bank’s analytical support for regional cooperation fora including ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, and Korea) and APEC, growth strategy diagnostics for developing member countries, as well as research on macroeconomic, financial, labor market, and globalization issues.
Read full biography.
Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy National University of Singapore
- Bio
Danny Quah is Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics. His research interests lie in international economic relations, economic growth and development, and income inequality and social mobility. Quah's current projects analyse the impact of fraying multilateralism on economic growth and social mobility, and study the modern practice of economic statecraft.
Among other positions, Quah serves on the World Bank President's Economic Advisory Panel; the World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development's Advisory Board; the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Geopolitics; and Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management's Global Advisory Board.
Read full biography.
Dean and Distinguished Professor, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Northeastern University
- Bio
Kellee Tsai, PhD, became the new Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities on February 26, 2024. Her career spans leadership roles in higher education, most recently as dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science and Chair Professor of Social Science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. At Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Dean Tsai served as associate director of the Center for AI Research and founding director of the center’s AI Ethics and Governance Lab, where she brought the social sciences and humanities into conversations on ethical uses for AI.
Read full biography.
Professor of Political Science, HKU; Founding Director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW)
- Bio
Li Cheng is professor of political science and founding director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) at the University of Hong Kong. Dr. Li’s research areas include the transformation of political leaders, the Chinese middle class, technological development in China, and Sino-U.S. relations. Li is the author and editor of 17 books, including “Middle Class Shanghai: Reshaping U.S.-China Engagement,” “The Power of Ideas: The Rising Influence of Thinkers and Think Tanks in China,” and “Chinese Politics in the Xi Jinping Era.”
Read full biography.
Agenda
8:30-9:00 a.m. Breakfast and Registration
9:00-9:15 a.m. Welcome Remarks
9:15-10:00 a.m. Keynote Address – “The International economic implications of Trump’s economic policies”
10:00-11:20 a.m. – Panel 1: “Rewiring Globalization: U.S.–China Trade in Transition”
11:20-11:40 a.m. – Coffee break
11:40 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Panel 2: “Rival Systems, Shared Markets: The U.S.–China Financial Nexus”
- Greg Chin (York) – "The Global Financial Integration of China and US-China Economic Relationship"
- Chair: Stephen Kaplan (IIEP GW)
12:30-13:45 p.m. – Lunch
13:45-14:30 p.m. – Keynote Address – “Industrial Policies and Beyond: Rethinking China’s Current Account Surpluses”
14:30-15:20 – Panel 3: “Aging, Inequality, and Adaptation in East Asia”
- James Raymo (Princeton) – “Life course heterogeneity, aging, and inequality in East Asian Societies”
- Binzhen Wu (Tsinghua) – "Quantity vs. Quality: When Aging meets AI in China"
- Chair: Barbara Stallings (IIEP GW)
15:20-15:40 p.m. – Coffee
15:40-16:30 p.m. – Panel 4: “The AI Productivity Revolution: Both Promise and Peril”
- Yanhui Wu (HKU) – “Why does AI make financial analysts poorly paid?”
- Yi Huang (BIS and CEPR) – "Open-source AI Models as Process Innovation: Evidence from Stock Market Reactions"
- Chair: Maggie Chen (IIEP GW)
16:30-18:00 p.m. – Concluding Panel: “Competing Visions: U.S., China, and the New Rules of the Game”
18:00 p.m. – Closing Remarks
Conference Organizing Committee
GWU: Steve Suranovic, Maggie Chen, Stephen Kaplan, Chao Wei, Barbara Stallings, Kyle Renner
HKU: Heiwai Tang, Cheng Li
