City seminar on major-country diplomacy and belt and road

The College of Business organised the first episode of City Seminar in 2019 on 17 January. Mr Yang Yirui, Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong SAR, shared his insights on the topic "Major-Country Diplomacy and Belt and Road - China's Roles in an Ever-Changing World".

Professor Houmin Yan, Dean of the College, kicked start the seminar with a warm welcome remark. He said it was the College’s great honour to have Mr Yang as the guest speaker and explained the aim of the City Seminar talk series - to discuss topics together (席Xí), to understand suchtopics in depth (明Míng), and to gain something of value from the discussions (納Nà).

In his talk, Mr Yang first commented on the current global political situation, as well as the changes and challenges facing by major countries. He then discussed China’s diplomatic strategies, vision and goals. In the QA session, he shared insights on topics like China-US tension, cross-strait relations, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the development of the Greater Bay Area etc.

Mr Yang graduated with a Master's Degree in Economics, and joined the Foreign Service in 1993. He had working experience in the Department of West European Affairs, Department of Policy Research and General Affairs Department, and was posted in Chinese embassies in the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa. He was a visiting scholar in the University of Tokyo, Japan. From 1997 to 2000, Mr Yang worked in the Commissioner's Office of the Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong SAR. He has been serving as the Deputy Commissioner of the Commissioner’s Office since 2017.

About City Seminar 
The City Seminar 香港席明納 was initiated by Prof Houmin Yan, Dean of the College, with an aim to discuss topics together (席Xí), to understand such topics in depth (明Míng), and to gain something of value from the discussions (納Nà). Professors and/or scholars are invited to explore a wide range of topics during the series.

For more information about past and upcoming seminars, please visit the City Seminar website.