China’s “Two Sessions” is the annual plenary meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference that gathers delegates from across the country to discuss and approve national priorities. It also sees the unveiling of the government’s policy agenda and annual targets for GDP growth, inflation, and employment. Understanding the outcomes of the “Two Sessions” is critical to gauging government policy, the major issues that concern Chinese leaders, and the development objectives that have been set.

On March 24, 2023, CCBC and CCCC members joined this members-only briefing to hear Ambassador CONG Peiwu, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Canada, and CCBC Executive Director & COO Sarah Kutulakos analyze and unpack the details of the recently-concluded 2023 “Two Sessions.”

The recording link is available upon request. Please contact your regional Chapter Director to request access:

• • Atlantic: Edward Dai
  • Quebec: David Perez-Des Rosiers
  • Ontario: Jeff Zhang
  • Prairies/Nunavut/NWT: Lotta Ygartua
  • BC/Yukon: Lotta Ygartua
  • Beijing: Noah Fraser
  • Shanghai: Edward Dai

About the speakers:

H.E. CONG Peiwu
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Canada

Ambassador CONG was born in May 1967. He graduated from China Foreign Affairs University. Mr. CONG is married and has one daughter. His professional career is as follows:

• 1992-1993 Staff member, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
• 1993-2000 Staff member, Attaché, Third Secretary, Deputy Division Director, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2000-2003 Second Secretary, First Secretary, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Canada
• 2003-2007 First Secretary, Deputy Division Director, Division Director, Counsellor and Division Director, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2007-2009 Counsellor, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2009-2014 Minister-Counsellor, Minister, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• 2014-2019: Director-General, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2019-present: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Canada

Sarah Kutulakos
Executive Director & COO
Canada China Business Council

Sarah joined the CCBC in 2007 and has since revitalized CCBC’s role as Canada’s premier bilateral trade and investment organization. Sarah has re-centered the Council’s activities around providing business services, catalyzing business growth and activity, and advocating for stronger Sino-Canadian bilateral trade and investment. This has resulted in extensive public outreach activities, internal infrastructure improvements, the launch of new programs such as the Business Incubation Centre, and thriving member relations.

Prior to joining CCBC, Sarah worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Sarah managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Sarah has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Sarah’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.