November 25, 2020

ChinaTalk with Ying Lowrey (Tsinghua University)

59 minutes

Alibaba is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world. It is a Chinese equivalent of the American online retailer, Amazon - Alibaba’s strongest competitor. The Asian giant is not just a shopping platform. It also offers a variety of services, such as online payments, logistics services, e-marketing, and IT support for online businesses. Similar, grassroots technological start-ups that have been appearing in the communist China, are an interesting phenomenon, especially in the era of the China-US economic war and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic leading to a global economic crisis.

How can Alibaba phenomenon be explained? How important are private technological start-ups and private e-commerce service providers for the Chinese economy? What is the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China's growth? What constitutes China's economic "backbone" during the US-China trade war and the pandemic? How does the Eastern giant react to the current huge economic challenges? Can China save the world economy?

We will pose these questions to Professor Ying Lowrey, an economist, researcher and advisor from Tsinghua University. The meeting will be hosted by Associate Professor Marcin Jacoby, Head of the Department of Asian Studies at SWPS University, and Zbigniew Niesobędzki, Ph.D., President of the Polish-Chinese Business Council - a partner of the ChinaTalk series.

About „ChinaTalk” series

ChinaTalk is a series of interviews with leading global experts on China and East Asia, produced jointly by the Polish Chinese Business Council (PCBC) and SWPS University. Interviews are hosted by PCBC President, Mr. Zbigniew Niesiobędzki, and Professor Marcin Jacoby, Head of the Department of Asian Studies at SWPS University.

ChinaTalk brings you the latest knowledge on the economy, social issues, management, and politics of China and East Asia. Our guest interpret the current developments and trends in the Chinese economy, and predict global, regional and bilateral outcomes of political decisions. Chinese relations with the European Union, and Poland in particular, constitute an important context of these discussions. The expert insights provide valuable input for business practitioners, analysts, as well as researchers and students interested in macroeconomics and global trade.

Dr. Ying Lowrey

Dr. Ying Lowrey is an Economic Professor at School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University and Deputy Director of Tsinghua Research Center for Chinese Entrepreneurs, Senior Researcher of Tsinghua Research Institute of Innovation Development, Senior Adviser for several privately owned Chinese enterprises, and research or government institutions. Her teaching and research interests include Economics of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Internet and Platform Economy, Modern Microfinance Market, Business Demographics, Characteristics of Business Owners, and the Role of Free Enterprise in the Macroeconomy. She received her economics Ph.D. from Duke University, economics MA from Yale University and mathematics BA from Wuhan University. Before joining Tsinghua University in 2012, she served as senior economist at the Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration; she taught many economic courses at George Washington University as assistant professor and San Diego State University as instructional professor. She was an assistant researcher at the Economic Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Science and assistant professor at Wuhan University.

Prof. Marcin Jacoby

Sinologist, translator, expert on socio-political processes in East Asia, particularly China and Republic of Korea. He is also Head of the Department of Asian Studies at SWPS University, where he teaches literature, art, and cultural diplomacy in China and East Asian.

Zbigniew Niesiobędzki, Ph.D.

Economist with a career associated with investment funds. Over the years, he worked for Deloitte, and served as board member and member of supervisory boards of many companies in the telecommunications, construction, and furniture sectors. Currently, he is President of the Polish Chinese Business Council.

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