Cambridge-Beijing Forum

Academics, entrepreneurs, business people and policy makers from Cambridge and China will meet in Beijing this month to debate how private enterprise can help to realise the hopes expressed in the Third Plenum.

Hosted by Cambridge Judge Business School, the Cambridge-Beijing Forum on 25 March will explore how the bold reforms proposed by the 18th Party Congress Third Plenum can be implemented.

The Third Plenum presented an ambitious 60-point plan for economic, social and legal reform in China in November 2013. Now the private sector is grappling with how to make the plan a reality and engaging with international friends, like Cambridge, to share ideas.

The main subject for discussion will be one of the cornerstones of the plan, which is that the ‘market will play a decisive function in resource allocation’, signalling a significant shift towards the critical role of the private sector in the development of the Chinese economy and society. The focus will be on Shenzhen, the first and most successful Special Economic Zone to be set up in China, and now one of the most economically developed regions of the country.

Chaired by journalist and talk show host Yang Lan, speakers will include Xu Shaochun, Chairman of Kingdee, one of the largest providers of enterprise management software and e-business application solutions in Asia Pacific, and Wang Shi of China Vanke, China’s largest residential real estate developer. From Cambridge Judge Business School, Michael Kitson, University Senior Lecturer in International Macroeconomics, and Simon Taylor, University Lecturer in Finance, will also give presentations.