Dear partners and stakeholders,
Following Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power at the 20th Party Congress and the relaxation of China’s zero-COVID policies, the Chinese leadership has gathered again for the 2023 Two Sessions. This year’s meetings are particularly consequential because, on top of the routine announcements of economic targets and the discussion of legislation, they will oversee new personnel appointments and a significant institutional reshuffle that will shape Chinese politics and policy-making in the coming years.
The EU SME Centre and the European Chamber are pleased to invite you to join our upcoming Policy Meeting, where Neil Thomas, formerly Senior Analyst at Eurasia Group, and Changhao Wei, Associate Research Scholar in Law and Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center and founder of NPC Observer, will discuss the various aspects of the 2023 Two Sessions . The meeting will take place on Thursday 16 March from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM (Beijing Time) online. The meeting will be off-the-record and held under Chatham House rules.
How to Register
This is a closed meeting open to consortium partners’ management and relevant stakeholders of EU SME Centre Phase IV including European embassies, consulates, EU-funded projects and secretariat/board members from European chambers or business associations only. If you meet the criteria and would like to attend, please send your information to Ms Ester Cañada Amela at ecamela@europeanchamber.com.cn before Wednesday 15 March noon. You will receive a confirmation email and later on the full address.
Agenda
9:00 – 9:10 Opening Remarks
9:10 – 10:00 Presentations by Neil Thomas and Changhao Wei
10:00 – 10:30 Discussion and Q&A
Speakers
Neil Thomas
Political Analyst
Neil Thomas is a political analyst previously linked to Eurasia Group, where he covered Chinese politics, foreign policy, and international relations. Prior to joining Eurasia Group, he was a senior research associate at MacroPolo, the in-house think tank of the Paulson Institute, and a lecturer at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Previously, he worked at the Australian National University and interned at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center. His writing has appeared in publications including Foreign Policy, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Washington Post; his research has been quoted by outlets including Bloomberg, The Economist, and The New York Times; he has also testified before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Neil holds a master in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a Kennedy Fellow, and a bachelor of arts from the University of Western Australia, where he was a Fogarty Scholar. He also studied in China at Tsinghua University, Renmin University, and Zhejiang University. When Neil is not engrossed in the latest issue of The People’s Daily, he enjoys browsing bookshops, meandering through museums, and sampling some good Shiraz.
Changhao Wei
Associate Research Scholar
Changhao Wei is an Associate Research Scholar in Law and Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, where he focuses on the National People’s Congress (NPC), in particular the NPC’s legislative process and constitutional enforcement mechanisms. He is the founder, manager, and editor of NPC Observer, a website that provides reporting, analysis, and original research on the NPC.
Born and raised in China, Wei holds a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, with a minor in French, from the University of California, Los Angeles.
