Monday, 17th October 2016
Speakers
Professor Janet Xuanli Liao, Senior Lecturer in Energy and Climate Diplomacy at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee.
Professor He Yafei, a senior Chinese diplomat and currently Professor at the Benching Academy
ThinkIN China, in partnership with the Yenching Academy of Peking University, hosted a workshop to debate one of the most important bilateral relations in today’s world – that between China and Japan – two major players in the international arena and key actors in the East Asian region.
The event saw the participation of two renowned guests. The workshop started with a lecture by Professor Janet Xuanli Liao, Senior Lecturer in Energy and Climate Diplomacy at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee. Professor Liao obtained a Ph.D in International Relations from the University of Hong Kong, an MA in International Relations at the University of Japan, and holds a BA and MA in History from Peking University. Her current research interests include Chinese think tanks and China’s foreign policy-making, Sino-Japanese political/energy relations, China’s Energy diplomacy, Chinese NOC’s and government relationship, and China and Japan’s climate change policy. She held several teaching and research positions in China, Japan, UK and Sweden.
After the lecture, Professor He Yafei, a senior Chinese diplomat and currently Professor at the Yenching Academy, opened the discussion by sharing his views on the current state and future prospects of the bilateral relation, drawing on his extensive knowledge and first-hand experience as a diplomat. During his career, Professor He worked in the Secretariat of the United Nations in New York City, the PRC’s embassy in the United States of America, served as Assistant Foreign Minister and then Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, held the positions of Ambassador of China in the U.N. Offices in Geneva and Deputy Director of Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council. Several Yenching scholars joined the discussion and had the opportunity to engage in fruitful debate with the two guests, in an informal and stimulating environment.