As part of the bicentennial of UM, the forum aims to connect the U.S. and China on the issues of Sino-US trade and international relations. World leading experts and professionals from different sectors including entrepreneurship, finance, automotive, media, academia and government were invited to share their insights on the four topics of entrepreneurship, car and smart travel, media and China’s financial and economic issues. The forum also provides a great platform for youth leaders from all over the world to connect and understand the challenges and opportunities in the future for the development of Sino-US relations. A total of 1,600 participants attended the two-day event.
The first session on China’s financial and economic issues kicked off on Saturday afternoon. Six guests analyzed the future development of the business relationship between China and the United States from different perspectives, the floating and outlook of China’s financial market, the current situation and future direction of the Chinese market, and the new financial operation mode and idea brought by the internet finance.
Hong Lei, the Consul General of China in Chicago, delivering the keynote speech on US-China relations at the Michigan China Forum
At the opening ceremony on Sunday, Hong Lei, Chinese Consulate General in Chicago, gave the keynote speech on the Sino-American relationship. He pointed out that a healthy and stable Sino-US relation is of great significance to the growth of the world economy and the resolution of global problems. To maintain and develop this important bilateral relationship, the two sides should go beyond political and social differences and work together to achieve a win-win collaboration in trade, investment, science and technology, energy, infrastructure and so on.
Brian Connors, Executive Director of the Michigan-China Innovation Center, chronicled the outstanding achievements the state of Michigan has made in developing strong economic ties with China in recent years. He emphasized that Michigan has broad prospects for cooperation with China with her advantages in agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. He invited more Chinese companies to invest in the development of the state. Liz Muller, Director of Global Initiatives at the Ross School of Business, said that Ross is committed to nurturing global business talents and has carried out extensive cooperation with Chinese universities. She looked forward to more Chinese students studying at the UM.
Subsequently, the forum guests participated in panel discussions on Sino-US relations, innovation and manufacturing cooperation, youth exchange and other topics.
In the session of the media, experts of the industry took a comprehensive and in-depth look into the changing new media, as well as its opportunities and challenges.
As more and more students choose to study abroad today, employment has become a hot topic. China’s current call for “All out for innovation, all out for entrepreneurship” has inspired many college graduates to pursue entrepreneurial dreams. The session of entrepreneurship invited eight successful entrepreneurs and investors to share their experiences and to enlighten the aspiring students.
The session on automotive and smart travel focused on the traffic challenges in the process of urbanization and explored new opportunities for driver-less vehicles, shared bicycles, electric vehicles and other innovative solutions for the transformation of China and the United States. Experts from the industry exchanged outlooks on challenges and opportunities of the future traffic transformation.
In addition, an international career fair sponsored by several head-hunting companies was held during the forum, attracting more than 300 people who are interested in finding jobs in the United States. Lastly, the final round of the Chinese Business Challenge was held at the Forum. General Control Inc. won the first prize and iMassFrag was the runner-up.
Forum guests and faculty/student participants
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