Tickets on sale for June conference, "China: Competitor or Partner?"

TRAVERSE CITY — General registration for the June conference, “China: Competitor or Partner?” convening experts on Chinese-U.S. relations from Beijing, Shanghai, Washington D.C. and New York alongside local Michigan experts, opens April 30 at mynorthtickets.com.

Expected to sell out quickly, the June 5–6 conference offers an in-depth look at the economic, political and educational and cultural connections between the two nations. Organized by NMC’s International Affairs Forum, the $125 registration fee includes the June 5 keynote opening session, “China in the 21st Century: Are We Ready?”  with speaker David Shambaugh of George Washington University and the Brookings Institution as well as all-day conference events June 6 at the Hagerty Center:

  • Morning keynote: “The Rapid Pace of Change in China: What’s to Come” with speaker Ted Plafker, Beijing correspondent for The Economist and author of Doing Business in China
  • Roundtable discussions and breakout sessions organized into three tracks: Business, political, or educational/cultural. Participants may select sessions from any track during each of the four session slots from 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
  • Lunch keynote speaker, Dr. Mustafa Mohatarem, Chief Economist, General Motors
  • Networking afternoon reception

“With the largest population in the world, China dominates the discussion, and this conference is a chance for northern Michigan residents to get in on the conversation,” said Debbie Rough, conference chair.

Lead conference sponsors are NMC and FIM Group.

“We see this conference as an opportunity for our community to engage deeper into international connections and activate a dialogue of advancement,” said Paul Sutherland, president of FIM Group.

In addition to local participants in the breakout sessions and roundtable discussions, Shambaugh, the Thursday night keynote speaker, received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan and has family ties on the Old Mission Peninsula dating back to 1902.

Conference participants may also register for two additional events:

  • June 6 evening finale at the Dennos Museum Center, a reception and presentation of the contemporary Chinese photography exhibition “How To Return” by curator Steven Harris of Shanghai’s M97 Gallery. Finale tickets are $8 (free to museum members) event runs 7–9 p.m.
  • June 7, “Authentic Chinese Cooking” with celebrity chef Candice Lee and Pete Peterson, $80 for conference attendees. 10 a.m.–1 p.m., Great Lakes Culinary Institute, second floor/east wing of NMC’s Great Lakes Campus.

Release Date: April 17, 2014

For More Information:

Debbie Rough
Chair, International Affairs Forum China Conference
debsrough@hotmail.com
(248) 496-1229

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