14.00 - 14:45 CET
China’s expanding influence is reshaping global perceptions, markets, and power dynamics. This thought-provoking panel delves into how cultural diplomacy, strategic infrastructure partnerships, and the rise of innovative global brands are fueling China’s ascent as a global powerhouse.
Join us for an engaging discussion on how China’s soft power and economic growth are redefining international relations and business on the world stage. Together, we’ll celebrate key milestones that highlight this remarkable transformation:
Qing Wang is a Professor of Marketing and Innovation at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, where she has been a faculty member since 2000. She has also held visiting professorships at several prestigious institutions, including Duke University, Tsinghua University, and Zhejiang University.
In 2006, Professor Wang founded the MICE (Marketing, Innovation, and the Chinese Economy) network, significantly contributing to the study of marketing and innovation in China. She is widely regarded as a leading expert on the competitive strategies of Chinese enterprises in Western markets, particularly through branding. Her expertise also extends to analyzing the behavior of luxury consumers and developing strategic marketing approaches for luxury brands.
Professor Wang’s work is highly regarded and appeared in key publications such as the Oxford Handbook of Luxury Businesses, the Oxford Handbook of China Innovation, and leading journals like the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Product Innovation Management, and Research Policy. In recognition of her impact on the field, she was awarded the prestigious Robert D. Buzzell Award by the Marketing Science Institute in 2009 for her outstanding contributions to marketing theory and practice. In 2013, she received a Higher Doctorate (Doctor of Science) from the University of Warwick, acknowledging her significant contributions to social science.
Beyond academia, Professor Wang is an active member of several influential organizations, including the Institute of Directors (IoD) and Marketing Science Institute (MSI), and holds the position on the board of directors of UK companies. She has also consulted for companies in the UK, US, and China on international market entry and branding strategies. Her insights and work have been featured in prominent media outlets such as the BBC, The New York Times, and Forbes.
Markus, a Swiss-Chinese, is an experienced advisor to European corporate, investment and public sectors focusing on China’s market, policy and geoeconomic factors to provide advise on key management issues including strategy, governmental affairs and general HQ-subsidiary interactions, as well as strategic initiatives such as localization, partnerships and negotiations. Prior to CMG, Markus worked as Government Affairs Director with Bayer MaterialScience in China and as Management Consultant with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in its Shanghai, Hong Kong and Zurich offices.
Markus is a Strategic Advisor Europe to Caixin Global and the Vice-President of the Swiss Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SCCC), leading its policy and government affairs committee and coordination with European peer organizations via EUCBA. He is further engaged in the advisory board of CEIBS Zurich (Europe) and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network.
Markus holds a B.A. and M.A. in Law focusing on public policy, international public, economic and WTO law from the Universities of Geneva, Bern and Fribourg, plus he studied Chinese at the Peking University as a resident student and holds a Certificate of Advanced Studies from the University of Zurich in applied ethics.
Jay Cao joined Phoenix Satellite TV in 2004 after graduating from University of Leeds with MA Communication Studies and has been the London Bureau Chief of Phoenix Satellite TV's Info News Channel since 2012. In his time at Phoenix Satellite TV, Jay has not only covered news stories in the UK and the EU countries but reported in a range of locations around the world, spanning from the Middle East, Africa, Ukraine, Cuba, the Falkland Islands and more. To date, Jay has covered the Middle East conflicts, Russia-Ukraine War, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and Nelson Mandela, UK-China relations, US-Cuba relations, the UK EU Referendum and the following changes in UK Government, including the appointment of Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak as UK Prime Minister.
The interviews conducted by Jay have included China’s former Prime Minister Li Keqiang and then deputy Prime Minister Liu He, Boris Johnson and David Cameron, during their time as UK Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, Federico Lombardi, spokesman for Pope Francis and his predecessor, Benedict XVI until 2016, and Julian Assange, Editor-in-Chief of WikiLeaks.
In the field of business and economic reporting, Jay has been responsible for the live coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos for more than 10 years, tracking the Sino-US and Sino-EU trade negotiations over the years. The business leaders he has interviewed include the CEOs of Volvo Car Corporation and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, senior management representatives of Chinese companies including Wuliangye, Yili Group, Gree Global, and Huawei, and Nobel Prize in Economics judges and some winners including Joseph Eugene Stiglitz.
David is the Chairman of Brand Finance Plc – the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. He has worked in the area of branded business, brand, and intangible asset valuation since 1991. He specialised entirely in the field after becoming the Director of Brand Valuation for Interbrand in 1995. He subsequently left Interbrand in 1996 to launch Brand Finance which is celebrating 25 years in business this year.
David represented the British Standards Institution in the working parties responsible for crafting international industry standards: ISO 10668 on Brand Valuation in 2010 and ISO 20671 on Brand Evaluation in 2019.
David is a passionate writer and has authored many articles on brand valuation, published in numerous marketing and finance newspapers and magazines, such as: Financial Times, Accountancy Age, and Marketing Week. He has also lectured on the topic of brand valuation for Harvard, Chicago, and London Business Schools.
David graduated from Bristol University with an English degree, qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse in London, and obtained a postgraduate diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). He is a Fellow of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and has a practising certificate with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).