China Going Global – How Can Good Governance Help Weather the Storms of Change?

As the head of BritCham Shanghai, Stuart’s ambition is to drive the continued support and growth of the chamber in line with the members’ needs and evolving business and political environment both in China and at home. Examples of these activities include government-to-business roundtables, regional East China activities and leading the chamber’s flagship events, including the new British Day, the annual ESG Summit & Awards and the British Business Awards.

Stuart brings to his position over 20 years of UK & international leadership experience covering trade & investment, operations, & project-based experience in world-leading hospitality corporations, as an entrepreneur and in Government.  Prior to taking on this role, Stuart was head of Agriculture, food & drink, trade and investment for the UK Department for International Trade.  His China journey started in 2010, moving to Dubai to join the Shangri-la, Pudong as Assistant Director of Food & Beverage during the World Expo, followed by several years as an entrepreneur, starting and operating the Tap House bar & restaurant group.

Stuart holds a Degree in International Marketing and Communications from Staffordshire University in England and is an active member of many community groups, including Heart 2 Heart and lives in Shanghai with his wife Emily, daughter Lilli & two dogs.

Dr. Henry Huiyao Wang is the Founder and President of Center for China and Globalisation (CCG) the leading Chinese non-governmental think tank among Top 100 in the world. In addition, he is the former Counselor to China State Council; Vice Chairman of China Association for International Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce; Vice Chairman of China Public Relations Association; a Director of Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and a Director of China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation, both organizations under the supervision of Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Dean of Institute of Development Studies of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics of China, and a member of Advisory Committee for Global Competence Development of Tsinghua University. Currently, he is a Steering Committee Member of Paris Peace Forum and also sits on the Advisory Board of Duke Kunshan University and Richard Ivey Business School.

Dr. Wang was once in charge of Chinese companies going global at the then Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, and then worked as Chief Trade Representative for the Quebec Government Office in Hong Kong and Greater China, Managing Director of Asia at SNC-Lavalin, and Vice President at AMEC-AGRA in Canada; He also had extensive experiences in international organizations, having served as Advisory Board Member of UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), and an advisory expert for the World Bank and the Alliance of Global Talent Organization (AGTO).

Dr. Wang pursued his PhD studies at University of Western Ontario and University of Manchester. He was a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, a Visiting Fellow of Brookings Institute, and a Senior Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada. As a thought leader on global relations, international business, global governance, talent migration, global investment and trade, Chinese Diasporas and Chinese think tanks etc., he has published nearly 100 works, including Escaping Thucydides’s Trap: Dialogue with Graham Allison on China-US Relations(Springer, 2023); CCG Global Dialogues(2022), China and Globalization Series: The Ebb and Flow of Globalization: Chinese Perspectives on China’s Development and Role in the World; China and the World in a Changing Context – Perspectives from Ambassadors to China, Transition and Opportunity – Strategies from Business Leaders on Making the Most of China’s Future(Springer Nature, 2022), Consensus or Conflict: China and Globalization in the 21st Century (Springer Nature, 2021); The Globalization of Chinese Enterprises: Trends and Characteristics (Springer, 2020) etc.

Dr. Wang is a frequent speaker at international events such as the World Economic Forum, Munich Security Conference, Paris Peace Forum, WTO Public Forum, Munk Debate, Berlin Foreign Policy Forum, and Milken Global Forum. He is also a frequent contributing writer for the op-eds to South China Morning Post, Financial Times, Bloomberg, New York Times and others.

Chris is Policy Adviser for BritCham Shanghai’s Executive Committee. He combines an international perspective with a deep understanding of China’s political, economic, and social landscape, gained through extensive experience in government, business, and civil society.

At Brunswick, Chris advises multinational company leaders on geopolitical risks, regulatory issues, and public affairs in doing business between China, the U.S. and Europe—areas where the Chamber’s members face unprecedented challenges.

Chris served as a UK government official in China from 2015 to 2023, holding prominent roles for the UK Foreign Office and Department for Business and Trade at the British Embassy in Beijing and Consulate-General in Shanghai. Earlier in his career, Chris led research on China’s Belt and Road Initiative at the Global Environmental Institute, one of China’s leading NGOs.

Chris was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to British foreign policy. He holds an EMBA from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and is fluent in Mandarin.

Yue Su is the Principal Economist of Access China/Asia at The Economist Intelligence Unit. She is a frequent guest in national and international media, providing critical insight into China’s economic trends and fast changing policy environment.
Yue leads The EIU’s China research team, which provides economic and political coverage of China and has a strong client-facing element, both in terms of interacting with global clients looking at China and Chinese clients looking for a global perspective.

Yue joined the EIU in 2013. She has deep knowledge of China’s economic data and policy environment, and has played an instrumental role in shaping our forecasts and analysis for China at both the national and sub-national level. She also drives, for example, our recent successful calls on China’s GDP growth in the Covid-19 era and leads our coverage interpreting policies such as “common prosperity”, China’s 14th Five Year Plan etc. Yue has focused her research on subjects including China’s demographic trends, regional and industrial economics, infrastructure and Chinese ODI/Belt and Road Initiative.

During her time at The EIU she has contributed to several special reports, including the China Going Global Investment Index (2015 & 2017), Prospects and challenges on China’s “One Belt, One Road”: a risk assessment report and China’s supply-side structural reforms: progress and outlook. She has also acted as a consultant or advisor on several commissioned studies in the infrastructure field, such as on public-private partnerships in China and Asia.

Yue holds a doctorate in political economy from the Chinese Academy of Governance. Her research focused on the aid effectiveness of multilateral development banks and analysed the factors that might disrupt the investment returns of infrastructure projects. Before joining The EIU she worked as a local government civil servant in China. Yue holds a Masters of Economics from The University of Hong Kong.

Emily Hemmings is the China Energy Lead for the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) and serves as a Commercial Consul based in Shanghai. She leads the UK’s trade and investment engagement with China’s energy sector, working with government, industry and investors to support clean energy deployment, energy security and the energy transition. Her work focuses on areas including battery energy storage, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing supply chains and foreign direct investment into the UK.

Dr Rainer Pratl is a senior executive with over years of international experience in finance, strategy, and governance, specialising in business development and association leadership. He has worked extensively across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, delivering growth, transformation and innovation. With deep financial expertise and a strong focus on governance, Rainer has helped major institutions improve board effectiveness, drive member engagement and implement large-scale strategic initiatives.

Rainer began his career in Austria in structured finance and investment banking, gaining foundational expertise in capital markets and deal structuring. Rainer has a combination of deep financial acumen and practical governance experience. His recent work includes senior roles with the not-for-profit CFA Institute and the International Coaching Federation, where he led strategic growth, increased member engagement, and launched innovative digital platforms.

He has served as a consultant and project lead for global organisations including McKinsey & Co, Alliance Boots and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), delivering cost efficiency and governance-focused transformation.

A recognised board advisor, Rainer has helped shape governance capabilities for professional associations through his work with the Project Management Institute and the Institute of Directors. His experience spans multiple regions and industries, with a consistent emphasis on practical impact, stakeholder alignment and sustainable organisational success.

Michael Wadley is an experienced corporate lawyer and advisor based in Shanghai 25 years. He manages his own corporate advisory firm Wadley Business Consulting established in Shanghai in 2004. WBC matches Chinese and foreign partners and investors. He also assists identify business partners and associated acquisitions.
He is also currently the Partner managing Minter Ellison’s China operations through its Shanghai office and formerly a Partner and Head of the China Practice for several leading law firms.

Michael advises clients on a range of general corporate, commercial and governance matters and on legal issues including corporate governance and other commercial aspects of their business. Michael has assisted several hundred Australian, Chinese and foreign companies establish and manage operations in China and Australia.
Serving on boards and involved in his own start-ups before transferring to China with his young family, Michael has continued to serve on boards and has been involved on several listed company boards, some as Deputy Chair and as Chair and as a member of various Board subcommittees.

Michael has served three terms on the Board of Directors of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai where he also co-chaired the Chamber’s Joint Financial Services and the Greater China Chambers Committee.
Michael was also for many years a Board member of the Australia China Business Council and a Committee member of the Queensland State Branch. He is an AICD Fellow.