"Columbia and China: Past and Future"
2009 Columbia University Symposium in Beijing

Sunday, May 31, 2009
Westin Financial Street, Treasury Ball Room
9B Financial Street • Xicheng District • Beijing, China 100032

Presented by: The Weatherhead East Asian Institute and The Columbia Alumni Association

With the Support of: Arts Initiative of Columbia University , The Earth Institute, The Center for Chinese Legal Studies, Columbia Business School , The Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation

Participation by: The School of the Arts, The Department of Music, and The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

12:30 - 1:00 PM Registration

1:00 – 1:05 PM Welcoming Remarks by Myron L. Cohen, Director, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University

1:05 – 1:15 PM Opening Remarks by Nicholas Dirks, Vice President for Arts and Sciences; Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology and Professor of History

1:15 – 1:45 PM Keynote address by Zhang Xinsheng, former Vice Minister of Education, People’s Republic of China

1:45 – 2:00 PM Coffee/tea break

2:00 – 3:30 PM Panel 1: “Weathering the Storm: The Financial Crisis’ Impact on China”

3:30 – 3:45 PM Coffee/tea break

3:45 – 5:15 PM Panel 2: “The Local and Global in Chinese Culture”

5:15 – 5:30 PM Coffee/tea break

5:30 – 7:00 PM Panel 3: “China’s Sustainability Challenge”

7:00 – 8:30 PM Cocktail Reception & "China and Columbia in Photos" - An exhibition of photography chronicling the historical ties between the University and China

Panel One: "Weathering the Storm: The Financial Crisis' Impact on China"

How will China deal with the accelerating global financial and economic crisis? Can China shift from an export driven to a consumer driven economy? How badly will its growth be impaired? What actions have been taken or proposed and what will their short and long term effects be? What damage has been done to China’s banking sector and what is the role of the banks in fighting the downturn? This panel will explore China’s issues and responses in the very changed global economy. The panel has been organized through cooperation between Columbia Business School and Columbia Law School.

Speakers:

David Beim, Professor of Professional Practice, Finance and Economics Division, Columbia Business School
Li Xiaojia, Chairperson and Administrative President of JPMorgan Chase (China)
Michael Pettis, Professor, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University; School of International and Public Affairs alumnus; Business School alumnus, Columbia University
Tao Wang, Head of China Economic Research at UBS Investment Banking

Moderator:

Merit E. Janow, Professor, International Economic Law and International Affairs; Director, Program in International Finance and Economic Policy; Co-director, APEC Study Center, Columbia University

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Panel Two: “The Local and Global in Chinese Culture”

How have Columbia University alumni contributed to developments in the humanities and social sciences in 20th century China? Has the extensive and diverse work of such notable figures as Hu Shi, Feng Youlan, Wen Yiduo, Xu Zhimo, Pan Guangdan, and Gu Weijun shaped Chinese opinion towards Columbia? How have major changes in the cultural climate such as war, revolution, colonial or imperial encounters, and movements in literature and art facilitated the impact of Columbia alumni on Chinese knowledge? This panel will explore the relationship between Columbia and China by inviting reflections on past encounters, while also looking towards the future of Columbia-China relations.

Speakers:

Xi Chuan, Associate Dean of the School of the Humanities, the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts
Jeffrey Johnson, Adjunct Assistant Professor and Director of China Lab, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University
Lydia Liu, Wun Tsun Tam Professor of Humanities; Professor of Chinese and Comparative Literature, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures; The Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, Columbia University
Christopher Washburne, Associate Professor of Music; Director of the Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program, Columbia University

Moderator:

Nicholas Dirks, Vice President for Arts and Sciences; Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology and Professor of History

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Panel Three: “China’s Sustainability Challenge”

China's rapid development over recent decades has significantly improved economic and social conditions for more than 1 billion people but has also placed increasing stress on the environment at local, regional, national, and global scales. As the two largest economies in the world (in purchasing power parity terms), how can China and the U.S. meet the challenge of finding sustainable approaches to environmental management and human development? What can be done to balance rapid action with long-term goals; improve understanding of linkages between energy, water, land management, climate change and food security; and better link environmental management with equitable development? This panel will explore how the next generation of leaders in both China and the U.S. can gain the education and skills and develop the collaborative relationships needed to address these questions. It will also examine how achieving sustainability in the long term will require better data on environmental and socioeconomic conditions and trends.

With address via video by Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute at Columbia University

Speakers:

Robert Chen, Director of the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Earth Institute, Columbia University;Secretary General, Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) of the International Council for Science (ICSU)
Erika Helms, Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute, China
John Mutter, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

Moderator:

Xiaobo Lü, Professor of Political Science, Barnard College; Director of the Columbia Global Center|Beijing, Columbia University

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Friday, May 29, 2009

Columbia University School of the Arts presented the global premiere exhibition of:

A Decade of Contemporary Prints: 1999 – 2009
The LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies

The global premiere group exhibition of a decade of prints presented all the print projects published by the School of the Art’s renowned LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies. During the opening event at Tsinghua University – Beijing, talks and tours of the exhibition were given by: Gregory Amenoff, Eve and Herman Gelman Chair of Visual Arts, Lei Meng, Exhibition Curator and Jomar Statkun, Neiman Gallery Director.

Opening Reception: May 29, 2009, 6pm – 8pm
Exhibition Dates: May 29 – June 13, 2009

Saturday, May 30, 2009
8 p.m.

The Arts Initiative at Columbia University presented:
Kind of Red
An Evening of New Jazz
Featuring players from the Columbia University's Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program, Beijing's Celebrated Red Hand Jazz band, and special guest artists Wu Na and Zhang Hongyan, China's "Queen of Pipa".
The Concert at Tsinghua University Center for Art- Education Function Hall, aka Meng Minwei Building, was followed by a reception and jam session at D-22!
Click here for more information about this event.

Sunday, May 31, 2009
7 p.m.

China and Columbia in Photos
An exhibition of photography chronicling the historical ties between the University and China was unveiled at the cocktail reception following the symposium.

Contact and Logistics: Admission is free of charge and requires advanced registration. For further information, please contact Caroline Hasegawa, Programming and Events Coordinator, at cb2469@columbia.edu, or (212) 854-6916 or Daniel Rivero, Publications and Public Relations Coordinator at dr2260@columbia.edu or (212) 854-1735.