10 Break-Out Sessions

  • Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

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London Reception 2022

On 21 February, as part of our year-round dialogue formats, we had the pleasure to host the St. Gallen Symposium London Reception at 116 Pall Mall – a magnificent Georgian building in the heart of the city and the location for a number of famous films and TV dramas beginning with the Oscar-winning Gandhi.

The event was designed around the topic of UK-China relations and took place under the title “The great decoupling: How should the UK reshape its relationship with China?”

Economic relations between China and the UK are at a tipping point. Among others, the dispute over China’s national security law and the UK’s ban on Chinese 5G technology has led to a drastic cooling of relations between the two nations. Against the backdrop of increasing decoupling between the US and China in the technology and investment sectors, an important question also arises for the UK: How far should they extend their independence and where do the opportunities of cooperation outweigh the risks of interdependence?

The event was opened by a welcoming speech of Beat Ulrich, our CEO and Bruno Wihelm, our responsible for the UK and Ireland.

To provide the audience with some context and introduce the topic, Jon Geldart, Director General of the Institute of Directors, delivered a keynote speech outlining the socio-political landscape that has contributed to making China what it is today and providing a balanced perspective to better support the understanding of attendees to this complex country and its culture.

The speech was followed by an expert panel discussion, carried out by

  • John McLean OBE: Chairman, IoD City of London and former Director of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC)
  • Mark Logan MP: Vice Chair, All-Party Parliamentary China Group
  • Tim Loughton MP: Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China
  • Hong Bo: Professor in Financial Economics, SOAS University of London

The discussion was moderated by Martina Fuchs, Europe Business Correspondent for China’s Xinhua news agency and International Advisor to the St. Gallen Symposium, and followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Following the thought-provoking, insightful and sometimes contentious discussion, our guests were invited for drinks and canapés and thus had the opportunity to connect with other participants and representatives of the St. Gallen Symposium.

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