Mr. ZENG Zhi, the Acting Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Vancouver.

Mr. ZENG Zhi has rich diplomatic work experience, and has previously worked in the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and has been engaged in protocol affairs for many years. He has also worked in Chinese diplomatic missions abroad, specifically Cyprus and Thailand.

Martin Cauchon has had a distinguished career. First elected as a Member of Parliament in October 1993, he has held many positions in the Government of Canada. He has served as Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), Minister of National Revenue, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. In 2013, he was an official candidate in the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. From 2015 to 2019, he was also a shareholder and Executive Chairman of Groupe Capitales Médias, which gave him a better understanding of the challenges facing the print media in a digital world.

Mr. Cauchon’s unparalleled experience in government and the private sector has given him a deep understanding of a wide range of issues. As counsel at DS Lawyers Canada, he advises companies on the various issues facing the knowledge economy and the globalization of markets, taking into account geopolitical factors. Mr. Cauchon also facilitates the creation of partnerships at the provincial, national, and international levels.

Having established relationships with several counterparts in China, Martin Cauchon has acquired a good knowledge of that market, which allows him to intervene in projects that are related to the Canada-China relationship.

After obtaining a law degree from the University of Ottawa, Mr. Cauchon became a member of the Quebec Bar in 1985 and completed a master degree in International Business Law in 1991, at the University of Exeter, in England. He was the 2004 recipient of the Equality Forum’s International Role Model Award. In 2015, he received the honorary distinction of “Advocatus emeritus” and “Le Mérite” from the Quebec Bar. He is also Vice Chair, Board of Directors of the Canada China Business Council and Chair of its Quebec Chapter Advisory Council. He also serves on the board of directors of several companies.

Dr. Fung is the co-founder, Board Chair and CEO of the ACDEG Group of companies, a global technology integrator. Over the past 35 years, he has founded, co-founded or restructured over 25 business ventures/corporations in agri-food, manufacturing, wholesale distribution and clean technologies in North America, Europe and Asia.

Dr. Fung is also the Founding Scientist of EM Fluids Inc. of Ottawa (ON) with water remediation projects on six continents. He is the co-inventor of 46 issued or allowed patents with more than 30 patent applications pending on a variety of chemical technologies including a highly disruptive discovery on the disproportionate responses of the physicochemical properties of liquids to minute external stimuli.

Besides the ACDEG Group of companies, his board experience includes Chair of the Chemical Institute of Canada, Co-chair of the Members of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, National Board Chair of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Association, Chair of China Committee of International Science & Technology Partnership Canada, Vice-chair of the national boards of Canada China Business Council, the Canadian Standards Association Group and the Management Board of National Zero Waste Council of Canada. He was the Chancellor and a member of the Board of Governors and the Senate of Capilano University of British Columbia, the President of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, a member of the Steering Committee of the Metro Vancouver Regional Prosperity Initiative, a Senior Fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and a member of the Advisory Board of the McGill School of Religious Studies.

He was awarded the Canadian Asian of the Year (Business and Public Service), 2009 by Asia Network Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012 by the Governor General of Canada, the honorary Doctor of Law degree by Capilano University (BC) in 2014, the honorary Doctor of Science degree by Concordia University (Quebec) in 2020, the Award of Merit by the McGill Alumni Association in 2022 and Fellow of Engineers Canada in 2024.

Jing LI (PhD, Indiana University) is a Professor of International Business at the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, where she serves as the director of the Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Business Studies. Her research focuses on international investment strategies of firms, doing business in emerging markets, state-owned enterprises, and the intersection of geopolitics, public policies, and firm strategies. She has published over forty articles in leading management and international business journals. She is equally passionate about teaching and engaging in activities that promote dialogue and collaboration among researchers, business leaders, and policymakers.

Stephen Wortley is a leading capital markets and mergers and acquisitions lawyer. He is highly regarded for his deep knowledge of the Chinese, Hong Kong and East Asian markets. With extensive expertise in domestic and international securities and corporate matters, Mr. Wortley advises state-owned enterprises and a variety of small and medium-sized businesses.

Assisting startups and established companies in the technology, financial services, advanced materials, manufacturing and energy and mining industries, Mr. Wortley provides counsel on local, national and international prospectus offerings, as well as numerous listings on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. He also advises on Chinese outbound M&A transactions into the Americas, ASEAN and Europe.

Mr. Wortley has been recognized for his work in M&A by Chambers Global and The Legal Media Group – Guide to Leading Practitioners: China. He speaks frequently on the topic of Hong Kong Stock Exchange listings by Canadian companies, and on alternative investment structures.

Mr. Wortley clerked for The Honourable Mr. Justice Lambert of the British Columbia Court of Appeal.