Waiting list available, email candice@ccbc.com.cn for more information.
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
China World Summit Wing, Beijing
No.1 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Beijing 100004, China
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Registration & Reception
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Business Dinner
For CCBC’s 45th AGM, Beijing will be the home of our annual business dinner and cocktail reception for those in the China market. We look forward to hosting executives, officials and entrepreneurs from our member firms and beyond on the evening of October 31.
2023 Business Dinner Speakers
The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien,
P.C., C.C., O.M., Q.C., Ad. E
Mr. Olivier Desmarais
Chair, Board of Directors, CCBC
Senior Vice-President, Power Corporation
Chairman and CEO, Power Sustainable
H.E. Jennifer May
Ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of China
Biography
Jean Chrétien was born in Shawinigan, Québec, Canada. Mr. Chrétien completed his law studies at Université Laval and was admitted to the Québec Bar in 1958. He is also a member of the Ontario Bar.
Mr. Chrétien was elected Member of the House of Commons in 1963. During his career, he also served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, President of the Treasury Board, Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs and Minister in charge of Social Development.
Mr. Chrétien was sworn in as Canada’s 20th Prime Minister of Canada in November 1993 after winning a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. During his tenure he was re-elected with majorities in 1997 and 2000. As Prime Minister, Mr. Chrétien stressed balanced budgets, national unity and a strengthened place for Canada in the world. His government’s legacy also includes a number of social reform and humanitarian initiatives.
Mr. Chrétien left the Office of Prime Minister of Canada on December 12, 2003. In February 2014, Mr. Chrétien joined Dentons Canada LLP as counsel.
In 2007, Mr. Chrétien was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada.
In 2008, he became co-president of the InterAction Council, an international organization that mobilizes the experience, energy and international networks of former Heads of State and Government. Council members jointly develop recommendations and practical solutions for the political, economic and social problems confronting the global community.
In 2009, he was awarded the Order of Merit by Her Majesty Elizabeth II.
Biography
Mr. Desmarais has been Senior Vice-President of Power Corporation since 2017. Mr. Desmarais is the driving force behind the Power Sustainable vision as a global, sustainability-led alternative asset manager.
He chairs the Canada China Business Council (CCBC) and also sits on the boards of directors of Canada Life, IG Wealth Management, Mackenzie and Lumenpulse.
He is actively engaged in the community as member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
Mr. Desmarais holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from McGill University, and has been a Québec Bar member since 2009.
Biography
Ms. Jennifer May was appointed Canada’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China on September 23, 2022. She is the first woman to serve in this position.
Prior to her nomination, Ambassador May served as the Ambassador of Canada to the Federative Republic of Brazil from 2019 to 2022. She was Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Canada to the Federal Republic of Germany from 2015 to 2019.
Ambassador May has extensive Asia experience, having served in political and economic roles at the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2000, in Beijing at the Embassy of Canada to the People’s Republic of China from 2000 to 2004 and in Bangkok at the Embassy of Canada to the Kingdom of Thailand from 2010 to 2012, with additional responsibility to Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
Through her thirty-two-year career with the Government of Canada, Ambassador May has also served as Director of Eastern Europe and Eurasia Relations, Executive Director of the Defence and Security Relations Division at Global Affairs Canada and held overseas assignments in Vienna, Austria and Bonn, Germany.
Ambassador May was born in Toronto, Canada and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and German from Laval University in Québec City. She is married with three grown children. She speaks English, French, Mandarin, German and Portuguese. Ambassador Jennifer May is known as 梅倩琳 in Chinese.
H.E. WANG Shouwen
Deputy Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group of the Ministry of Commerce,
China International Trade Representative (full minister rank), and Vice Minister of Commerce
Mr. YU Jianlong
Vice Chairman, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade
Vice Chairman, China Chamber of International Commerce
Biography
Mr. WANG Shouwen, male and of Han ethnicity, was born in Xuancheng, Anhui Province in Mar. 1966. He started his career in Feb. 1989 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Apr. 1986. Mr. Wang obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Hunan University, a master’s degree in economics from the University of International Business and Economics and a doctoral degree in economics from Peking University.
Having worked as Deputy Director of Translation and Interpretation Service Division of the Protocol Department, and Director of Tendering Division and Textile Division of the Department of Foreign Trade Administration of MOFTEC, Mr. Wang was promoted to Deputy Director General of the Department of Foreign Trade Administration in May 2001. He subsequently worked as Deputy Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Tibet Autonomous Region under the Aid-Tibet Program in Aug. 2001. After his tenure as Deputy Director-General and Director-General of the Bureau of Fair Trade of MOFCOM starting from September 2003, Mr. Wang became Director General of the Department of Foreign Trade of MOFCOM in Dec. 2006 (between February 2009 and July 2010, he temporarily served as Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Nanjing). In August 2013, Mr. Wang was appointed Assistant Minister of Commerce and member of the CPC Leadership Group of MOFCOM. He was appointed Vice Minister and member of the CPC Leadership Group of MOFCOM in April 2015. In January 2018, Mr. Wang was also appointed Deputy China International Trade Representative.
Biography
At the CCPIT, Mr. YU Jianlong worked successively as Deputy Division Director, Division Director and Deputy Director General of the Department of International Relations. In December 2014, he was appointed Director General of the Department of Economic Information. He then worked as Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and President of the Arbitration Court of CIETAC, Vice Chairman of the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) and President of the Arbitration Court of CMAC, and Secretary General of the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC). In January 2021, he was appointed Secretary General of the CCPIT. Mr. Yu started to serve as a member of the CPC Leadership Group and Vice Chairman of the CCPIT since August 2022.
