The ACYD is delighted to announce the delegates for the 2014 Dialogue
Pete Anstee
Australian delegate
Pete Anstee is currently a policy advisor to the Minister for Communications. His work focuses on policy development across a full range of areas that impact Government digital services and public policy aspects of the digital economy including cyber security and network security, technology innovation, free expression, open data, and start-ups.
Immediately prior to this Peter worked as a lawyer in London for Geoffrey Robertson QC providing media and legal advice, including drafting guidelines on the prosecution of social media offences, pro-bono advice for the Media Legal Defence Initiative and providing advice on reforming Mauritius’ media laws and the impeachment of Sri Lanka’s former Chief Justice.
Peter started his career in journalism in the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery first as a researcher for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and then as a producer at Sky News.
Peter holds degrees in law and international relations from the ANU. In 2012 Peter completed his Bachelor of Civil Law (masters of law equivalent) at Oxford University, with a particular interest on the legal issues affecting international security, trade and human rights in China and Australia.
Peter is passionate about Australia and China’s relationship and is keen to develop and focus his expertise on China. He is keen to combine his legal and journalism skills with his work in politics to provide deep insights into how public policy relating to China and Australia is formed.
Mark Chan
Australian delegate
Mark Chan is currently the Asia Risk Leader in the Sales & Project Finance business for General Electric Co., one of the world’s oldest and largest leading diversified industrial technology conglomerates. He is responsible for structuring and executing equity & debt financing solutions for GE’s customers in numerous jurisdictions including China, Australia, India, Japan, Korea and the ASEAN nations across various sectors such as Aviation, Energy Management, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Power & Water and Transportation.
From a young age, Mark has been fascinated by issues that deal with his ethnic Chinese identity, Chinese cultural norms and the role of the large Chinese diaspora in Australia. Since moving to Hong Kong in 2011, Mark’s personal interests and professional responsibilities have required him to further his understanding and knowledge of “doing business” in China, including dealing with Chinese State Owned Enterprises, how to deal with the various levels of government and the risks & challenges that arise from working for a global multinational firm in China.
Mark is currently the Chairman of Australian Liberals Abroad – Hong Kong and represents the Liberal Party of Australia, one of Australia’s two “major” political parties. Mark has been active in politics since university, where he was elected as Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the University of Sydney Union. It was about this time that he became involved in the Liberal Party of Australia (NSW Division), and rose through the ranks to become the Vice-President of the NSW Young Liberals.
Mark has significant experience in political campaigns, having been actively involved in numerous local council, state & federal government elections in Australia over the last decade.
Born in Malaysia, Mark migrated to Sydney, Australia at the age of five. Educated at St. Aloysius’ College, he holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Accounting from Macquarie University.
Shupei Chen
Chinese delegate
Shupei Chen has been working for over a year at the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). Here, she uses her extensive knowledge and expertise in local markets to help Australian companies export to China, particularly in the health, senior living and financial service sectors. She took the lead in organising the Health/Senior Living Delegation’s business program in Beijing during Australia Week in China (AWIC), the biggest ever trade mission to China with more than 700 representatives from 564 organisations participating, led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott in April 2014. Before joining Austrade, she worked for a public relations company that operates in China.
Shupei has interned for a local non government organisation where she worked to increase the operational transparency of foundations throughout China. In the wake of the catastrophic 2008 Sichuan earthquake, she travelled to Beichuan Qiang Minority Autonomous County to study the recovery process of the Qiang’s handicraft artworks and other cultural relics. Articles she co-wrote about the recovery were featured in MSN China, Netease and Sichuan Daily. Shupei volunteered at the Olympic/Paralympic Village for 4 months during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Shupei has a masters in law from Renmin University.
Miranda Couston
Australian delegate
Miranda Couston is an avid retailer and currently works at Coach China in the merchandise planning team, where product and numbers come head to head on a daily basis. She is responsible for the overall allocation mix between different product departments, and tries to manage a complex set of relationships around sales, promotions, logistics to achieve the overall financial targets – a challenging but fascinating task.
Prior to finding her retail passion, Miranda was a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group in Sydney, and worked on a diverse range of projects across multiple sectors, including Government, financial services and consumer products. In between BCG and Coach, Miranda enjoyed her time at a variety of retail companies, including Australian luxury brand Oroton, an online fashion startup in Singapore Zalora, and the first Chinese apparel retailer to receive L Capital funding, Trendy International.
Miranda was accepted into Harvard Business School in 2012 and spent one of the most amazing years of her life there. In summer 2013 she made the decision to defer her second year of business school, with a view to spend the next few years working in China and getting a deep understanding of the environment here, before returning to complete her studies.
Miranda was born in Chengdu, China, and spent the first 10 years of her life there before migrating to Sydney, Australia. She speaks fluent mandarin and reads and writes Chinese. Miranda performed Chinese dance with the Chinese Youth League in Sydney for many years.
Helen Dai Australian National University Fellow
Australian delegate
Helen Dai works at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She has been appointed as Deputy Consul-General at the newly established Australian Consulate-General in Chengdu, commencing in 2016. Helen was previously posted to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta as Second Secretary and Consul.
Through her work at the Australian Embassy Jakarta, Helen supported numerous high level ministerial visits, including by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, to high-profile events such as the Bali Democracy Forum, Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum, ASEAN Regional Forum, APEC meetings and the 10th anniversary commemorations of the Bali Bombings. Helen also organised and led a panel discussion between four high-profile Indonesian and Australian female leaders at the Australian Embassy to mark Kartini Day (Indonesian ‘women’s day’), which was featured on the Indonesian Diplomatic Affairs program.
In Helen’s consular role in Indonesia, she has assisted many Australians abroad, including during natural disasters such as the Padang earthquake and Mount Merapi volcanic eruption. She recommends all travelling Australians to purchase travel insurance and register on Smartraveller.gov.au.
During her career in DFAT, Helen has worked as liaison officer to the Chinese delegation to the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns in 2009; participated at the 2011 Advance Women’s Leadership Summit and will be assisting in the G20 summit in November this year.
Helen is currently studying Master of International Law at the Australia National University. Helen completed her Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) at the University of Sydney majoring in Philosophy, Finance and Accounting, with a semester abroad in Shanghai. Helen is a CPA. She was born in Shanghai and speaks Mandarin, Shanghainese, and Indonesian.
As a keen snowboarder who has travelled far and wide, she hopes to add China to the list and explore all its snowy peaks during her future posting.
Jean Dong
Chinese delegate
Jean Dong is the founder and managing director of Spark Corporation Group, a company that focuses on Chinese investment in Australian agriculture and resources industry, and expansion of Australian businesses into Chinese markets through strategic partnerships. Prior to her entrepreneur journey Jean worked for 5 years at a world leading consulting firm with operations in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, during which she successfully led investment projects for multiple Chinese SOEs and private companies overseas. Jean is also currently on the advisory board of Winworld Australia Pty Ltd, China Australia Millennial Project, an honourable advisor of Golden Key International Honour Society, and has been invited to be a representative at the 2014 APEC Women Leadership Forum and 2014 APEC CEO Summit.
Prior to Jean's Australian journey, she enjoyed a rich experience as the editor of Youth newspaper (China), and a TV presenter and national reporter for CCTV television station (China). In 2009, Jean graduated from the University of Adelaide and was the Mace Bearer for the Commerce Graduate Class, and was the first female Asian Vice President of Adelaide University Business School. Jean has a passion for promoting Australian-Chinese bilateral relationship and is heavily involved in advising Victorian State Government on Australian-Chinese engagement. Due to her significant contribution to the Australian-Chinese bilateral relationship, Jean has received the honour of being the Ambassador for Study Adelaide and Ambassador for Tourism Victoria.
Qian Fang
Chinese delegate
Qian Fang is a PhD candidate in the Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW). She started her social policy study and research in Zhejiang University, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Master of Public Administration. Such a compound knowledge structure enables Qian to analyze social issues with a wider perspective. She participated in a series of research projects in the field of social security during her study in Zhejiang University, and two of her conference papers gained national awards. After graduation, Qian became a lecturer in Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, teaching Public Economics and Social Security. During that time, she independently managed several research projects. These experiences further trained her critical thinking and gave her opportunities to apply knowledge in practice.
For the pursuit of academic interest, Qian gave up her job and applied for the PhD program at UNSW. In 2013 she received the University of International Postgraduate Award by UNSW and started her doctoral research with the focus on accountability mechanisms in Chinese child-welfare NGOs. In 2014, she took months to conduct fieldwork in three different types of Chinese child-welfare NGOs: international NGO (INGO), government-backed NGO (GONGO) and grassroots support organization (GSO).
Besides interest in social policy research, Qian also shows her enthusiasm of voluntary service. She hopes to contribute to Sino-Australian communication and cooperation in the field of philanthropy.
Scott Flett
Australian delegate
Scott Flett is a registered architect in the state of NSW.
On completion of his studies at UNSW Scott was a recipient of the RAIA UNSW Lend Lease Design Ross Bonthorne award; the RAIA UNSW Architecture and Construction prize; a Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) Scholarship for Chinese language study & a Confucius Institute scholarship for Chinese language study, the latter being awarded for an equal “3rd Prize” in the 2009 international finals of the 《汉语桥》- ‘China Bridge’ competition.
Scott studied extensively in China and interned with Woods Bagot and Artilier Liuyu Yang on a variety of projects including: MOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, a green smart city in Inner Mongolia & was involved in a Master planning design ideas summit in Xinjiang province.
Scott has also been heavily involved in the Chinese media and the performing arts landscape, being a special guest on: 《幸福晚点名》 - “Midnight roll call” and co-hosting a special New Year’s Eve program: 《同乐江苏》 - “Jiangsu has foreign Talent’. In Sydney, Scott is heavily involved in Cathay Playhouse, the premier Australian Chinese Theatre organisation. In 2012 Scott performed in the Sydney fringe festival production ‘1980+’, in 2013 was involved in the spin-off Chinese travel show production: 《天涯任我行》 - “Global Getaways”, and this year Scott was awarded a major role in the 2014 production: 《你好，打劫》 - “The hostages”.
Fergus Green Victorian Government Fellow
Australian delegate
Fergus Green is a Policy Analyst and Research Advisor to Professor Nicholas Stern at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment at the London School of Economics, where his work focuses on policies and institutions for fostering the transition to a low-carbon economy.
A large part of Fergus’ work at Grantham focuses on China. Early in 2014 he co-authored a policy paper with Professor Stern for the China Development Forum which considered how China could dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the course of its next wave of structural economic and governance reforms. Ongoing research focuses on carbon pricing and tax policy in China, and on China’s coal consumption and policies. Through future research, Fergus plans to consider how China and Australia can better cooperate to decarbonise their economies, including through their bilateral trade and investment policies.
Fergus first became interested in China through studying mandarin in secondary school, after which he went on to complete a one year programme of intensive study at what is now the Beijing International Studies University. He then completed degrees in Arts (Political Science) and Law at the University of Melbourne, before practising as a lawyer for three and a half years in the Melbourne office of Australasian firm Allens, where he specialised in climate change, energy, water and environmental regulation. He moved to London in September 2012 to complete a masters in Philosophy & Public Policy at the LSE after receiving a Sir John Monash Scholarship.
Alexandra Grey
Australian delegate
Alexandra Grey is a PhD Candidate in Macquarie University’s Faculty of Human Sciences (Linguistics), supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. She studies China’s ethnic minorities and laws and polices protecting their languages.
Alex was a legal researcher at the not-for-profit Beijing Yilian Legal Aid and Study Centre for Labor (北京义联劳动法援助与研究中心) from 2010, continuing at Yilian as the first foreign employee after a year there as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development. She initiated the Yilian Advocacy Training Tournament, a program developing Chinese university students’ public interest advocacy skills while drawing in mentors and partners from NGOs and private law firms. Alex also designed and taught the first compulsory course in debate and critical thinking at a Mainland Chinese university, in partnership with a colleague at Beijing Foreign Studies University. She remains active in debate training and adjudication at events across China and Australia.
Back home (Sydney), Alex has lectured in law and policy since 2010, at both UNSW and Macquarie University. She was previously a commercial solicitor, but also has an undergraduate degree in French and a Masters in Applied Linguistics.
Alex studied Mandarin, including one intense year at the Berkeley-Tsinghua Inter University Program for Chinese Language. Alex’s interest in China was sparked well before Mandarin classes, through the photos, tales and toys shared with her in childhood by close family members who studied in China in the 70s and 80s.
Jin Han
Chinese delegate
Jin Han is a PhD candidate at National Institute for Mental Health Research, the Australian National University. Her PhD project is a cross-cultural study aiming to identify the factors that influence help seeking intentions and behaviours towards suicidality among Australian and Chinese university students. During her PhD, she will develop an online intervention in the purpose of raising public awareness on suicidality and facilitating their potential future help-seeking behaviours. In addition, Jin is collaborating with scholars from Harbin Institute of Technology and Peking University on using social media data to predict depression and suicidal ideation progression among Chinese university students.
Prior to her PhD study, Jin has received her master’s degree in biology (neuroscience) and bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. She led several student research projects including the National University Student Innovation Program. Five experimental papers were published on peer-reviewed international journals during her master study.
Jin is the cofounder and vice president of Australian Association of Chinese PhD Students and Young Scholars Incorporated, the founder and the leader of ScicoVisual Group. She volunteers in a variety of ways including international events such as the Shanghai International Marathon, Formula1 Chinese Grand Prix. Jin Han gives free online psychology lectures for LGBT organisations. She is interested in bridging the cooperation and dialogue between Australia and China to promote mental fitness in both countries.
Zhenyu Hua
Chinese delegate
Zhengyu Hua, George holds the position of Analyst at KPMG in the Mergers and Acquisitions as well as China Practice team. In this role he has advised on several projects and business development programs for various clients in Australia. He has also helped Chinese clients in Australia to research potential business opportunities and prepares proposals.
George concurrently holds the roles of Research Assistant with the Australia China Business Research Network at the University of Sydney Business School, he is the Secretary General of the Federation of Australian Suzhou Association, and Secretary General of the Australian Sun Tzu Research Association.
As a member of the KPMG/University of Sydney Business School research team, George has helped to develop the KPMG/University of Sydney database on Chinese outbound direct investment in Australia.
His research interests include cross-border mergers and acquisitions between Australia and China, particularly in deal structure and finance, corporate motivations and governance, as well as industrial sector analysis.
George has completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Sydney majoring in Accounting and Finance. He was also a member of the Model United Nation Society between 2009 and 2012, and was Director of the Model United Nation Conference in 2011 and 2012.
Xiao Jia Victorian Government Fellow
Chinese delegate
Xiao Jia, Jack is managing director at Phoenix Publishing & Media International (Australia), an Australian subsidiary of one of the biggest public- listed publishing and Media groups in China. His role is strategy and leading teams to achieve their goals. His business concept is connecting art and culture with business investment and meanwhile promoting bilateral culture and business engagement and understanding.
Jack has just completed a documentary titled “Global Chinese” , an Australian series in partnership with a China’s leading TV station where he interviewed 10 distinguished Chinese Australians widely selected from art, academic, health and business industries. This documentary has attracted the audience of millions globally.
Jack has extensive business experience in property development, marketing and finance investment in China.
He holds the bachelor degree in photography from Nanjing Normal University, China and Master degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He also holds an executive certificate from Sotheby’s institute of Art.
Jack writes a column on Australian international education for a Chinese leading and influential family business magazine and he is the founding vice chairman of Wuxi Elite Youth Entrepreneur Association and a committee member of the Federation of Industry and Commerce, Wuxi.
Aidan Lavin
Australian delegate
Aidan Lavin is a lawyer based in Brisbane, Queensland.
Growing up in regional Queensland, Aidan earned a scholarship to study Law and International Business at Bond University, graduating with First Class Honours. It was at Bond where he met his future wife, Shuang, who is originally from Shenyang, literally starting his love affair with China.
As a Senior Associate in the Corporate Advisory practice of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Aidan is a trusted adviser to many of Queensland’s major companies and superannuation funds. He regularly acts on multi-billion dollar transactions and has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, fundraisings, infrastructure investment and corporate governance. Aidan is an expert on foreign investment in Australia, advising Chinese clients of the firm, including state-owned entities.
In addition to his role at Corrs, Aidan is also a volunteer lawyer with the Queensland Refugee Civil Law Clinic which assists newly-arrived refugees. He is a regular presenter for the Governance Institute of Australia, is a former lecturer and tutor for the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and contributed to the Australian Chapter of the LexisNexis Annual Asia Mergers & Acquisitions Law Guide 2013/14.
Aidan has visited China on nine occasions, spending six months in Shenyang during 2008 when his first child was born. As a keen football supporter, an additional highlight of this trip was attending all of the football matches held in Shenyang as part of the Olympic Games.
Benjamin Leigh
Australian delegate
Benjamin Leigh is an investor and entrepreneur.
He started his career with Macquarie Group’s real estate investment banking team in Sydney. Transferred to Hong Kong and then Shanghai, he assisted in the launch and initial growth of a domestic Chinese trust company joint venture between Macquarie and two SOEs, the Sino-Australian International Trade and Investment Company.
Benjamin quit banking in 2010 to become an entrepreneur. After experimenting with a few ideas, he started a small chain of fast food restaurants serving Asian food in his hometown, Brisbane, together with Chinese partners, building from scratch to over A$1m in annual revenue within two years. He has now handed over operational responsibilities to new management.
Currently based in Hong Kong, Benjamin is working with a Chinese family to invest and manage assets in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Australia.
Benjamin holds a Master of Finance (Investment Banking) from INSEAD, and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce (Acct/Finc) from Bond University. He reads prolifically, is fluent in conversational Chinese and has a longstanding interest in Jungian psychology.
LI TSZ SHU, JAMES
Chinese delegate
James LI Tsz Shu is currently a research postgraduate student in public management at Peking University. He completed his bachelor degree in Chinese Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. James is passionate about debate and has often been selected to join both high school and university debating teams. His eloquent presentation and outstanding linguistic skills have won him numerous awards in debate and speech competitions.
As an active scholar-diplomat for his country and hometown, James has represented Hong Kong in various international programmes such as the 2012 Asia Pacific Leaders Education Programme, which is an intense one-month international dialogue and leader education programme in Korea with other aspirant young leaders of other Asia Pacific countries. He graduated with distinctions in all the examinable modules, particularly in Global History and Global Economy. During his academic pursuits, James has equipped himself with adequate knowledge over global issues and has excelled with flying colours in international politics and diplomacy courses at the School of International and Public Affairs of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
James was the President of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union where he managed over 120 student societies across the University. Recently, James has been invited to take up a post as teaching assistant at Peking University.
Liu Yang
Chinese delegate
Liu Yang(Luis Lau), studied and graduated from Tianjin University of Finance and Economics with a Bachelor of Management degree. He then went on to complete a Master of Management degree at the Business School of Nankai University in 2006. In the same year, he joined the Export-Import Bank of China and worked in the Department of Planning and Finance as an intermediate business manager from 2006 to 2010. In 2011, he was appointed Chairman of the Youth League of the Export-Import Bank of China. As Chairman, he pays close attention to the needs of youth, actively encourages youth to focus on issues of national importance both at home and abroad, and organises many activities. In his spare time, he focuses on study, and most recently completed his PhD in economics from the Ministry of Finance's Research Institute for Fiscal Science.
Thomas Mahony
Australian delegate
Thomas Mahony is a North Asia analyst for the Australian Government. In recent years he has covered the Chinese economy, regional history and territorial disputes, and Japan. He also led drafting of the briefing pack for the Prime Minister's first state visit to China in April 2014.
With accomplices of the Kelly Gang -- Australia's most notorious outlaws -- among his ancestors, Thomas has dedicated his life to public service in order to rehabilitate his family's honour. Graduating with degrees in Asian Studies and Economics from the ANU, he started out working on international issues at the Australian Treasury.
Growing up in rural Victoria, his first encounter with Chinese civilisation came as a young boy exploring the ruins of Chinese villages built near his hometown during the 19th century gold rush. The valuable coins he found there gave him the impression the Chinese must be prosperous. Later travel to China confirmed this.
Everything Thomas has learnt about Chinese leaders leads him to conclude that ties forged in youth tend to be the strongest and most enduring. In this spirit, he is looking forward to getting to know the other 2014 ACYD delegates.
Emma Moore New Colombo Plan Fellow
Australian delegate
Emma Moore is undertaking a Bachelor of Law and Commerce (Economics) at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. As an Inaugural New Colombo Plan Scholar, Emma is currently on exchange at the University of Hong Kong, focusing her studies on the Chinese legal system, International Public Law and International Financial Markets. With over two years of experience in Australian Immigration and Commercial Law, Emma has cemented her ambitions and trajectory for a career in the legal profession.
A passion for international relations has been fostered through her experience as Executive Director of Communications with the Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) in 2013. Emma then went on to represent Monash University at the NMUN Conference in New York this year. Emma's diverse talents have been further extended as Chief Editor at the Monash University Chapter of the Economics Student Society of Australia.
Her interest in the Australia-China relationship stems from her multicultural upbringing: Sunday roasts and Shanghainese Jiaozi are both equally acquainted with her family dinner table. Emma has also spent extensive periods of time in China, including a term of study at the prestigious Shanghai International Studies University this year.
Emma is fluent in English, Mandarin and Shanghainese, and through her studies for a Diploma of Languages has had the opportunity to appreciate in detail various works of Chinese literature. Emma also intends to improve her Cantonese during her exchange at the University of Hong Kong.
Blayney Morgan
Australian delegate
Blayney Morgan is a registered company auditor based in Melbourne, Victoria. He has eight years professional experience as a Chartered Accountant and has been involved in the audit of many public and private companies in Australia and overseas. Blayney has extensive experience with IPOs, capital raisings, acquisition due diligence, vendor due diligence and mergers and acquisitions.
As a principal at ShineWing Hall Chadwick (信永中和) Blayney’s work is principally with Australian resources, energy and agricultural projects. His clients include Yancoal Australia (Yanzhou Coal Mining), Caledon Coal (Guangdong Rising Asset Management) and Talison Lithium (Tianqi Shenghe). These companies represent some of the largest investments by Chinese state owned and private entities into Australian resource projects. He spends significant time working with the Australian and Chinese management of these companies ensuring that the financial reporting of these companies in is consistent with Australian and Chinese accounting standards.
Blayney is active in charitable organisations including being the treasurer of Victoria Walks a health promotion charity funding by VicHealth to promote better health outcomes through low impact activities.
Rachel Mourad Australian National University Fellow
Australian delegate
Rachel Mourad is a lawyer with both private sector and government experience. She has spent five years with the Australian Government where she specialised in negotiating and structuring equipment acquisition and sustainment projects, including advising the Department of Defence on the multi-billion dollar C-130J Aircraft sustainment contract. She previously worked as a lawyer in the commercial group at DLA Piper where her projects included the $1.3 billion AIR 87 Tiger Helicopter acquisition. Rachel has also published papers on air power and game theory in the Australian Defence Force Journal.
Rachel is highly dedicated to strengthening the Australia-China relationship through enhancing business and legal co-operation, developing commercial and governmental project partnerships between Australia and China, and promoting a better understanding of China’s peaceful development strategy through open dialogue.
Rachel holds a Master of Laws from UC Berkeley. She completed a combined Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Asian Studies (Specialist), majoring in Mandarin and Security and Strategic Studies at the Australian National University. In 2005 she obtained a scholarship to undertake Chinese language studies at Beijing University where she also co-captained the Beijing University Women’s Soccer Team.
Rachel is currently studying Mandarin at Tsinghua University in Beijing as part of the Tsinghua – UC Berkeley Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies; the premier language program for advanced professional competence in Mandarin.
Neil Thomas Foundation for Australian Studies Fellow
Australian delegate
Neil Thomas is an Australian student interested in Australia-China international relations, politics, and media.
Neil is a Project Officer with the Australian National University’s Australian Centre on China in the World and compiled the forthcoming ‘Australia-China Archive’ bilateral web resource. He is a Junior Policy Associate of the University of Sydney China Studies Centre and has worked for the Peking University Australian Studies Centre, Danwei Media, China Translation and Publishing Corporation, and Geoff Raby & Associates.
Neil has served for three years as National Publications Director of the Australia-China Youth Association (ACYA). During this time, he established and now edits the Journal of Australia-China Affairs, a peer-reviewed bilingual academic journal co-published by ACYA and the University of Sydney China Studies Centre. He also founded the AustraliaBites and ChinaBites pop culture digests, and was President of ACYA Beijing for the 2013-2014 autumn semester.
Neil co-authored an essay that won the 2013 ANU New Voices Competition, and has published articles on Australia-Asia relations in The Australian, The Drum, and Higher View Business. He was a panellist at the 14th International Conference on Australian Studies in China, 10th Renmin University Australian Culture Week and 1st FASIC Australian Studies in China Conference, and a delegate to the 2013 ANU Asia Pacific Week.
Neil has been a Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Scholar at Tsinghua University and the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies, a Chinese Government Scholar at Renmin University and Zhejiang University, and is a Fogarty Scholar at the University of Western Australia.
Crystal Hoi Ling Tsoi
Chinese delegate
Crystal Tsoi arrived at Australia in 2008 as an international student from Hong Kong, and graduated in 2012 from Raffles College of Design and Commerce.
Due to the quality and commitment to her design work, Crystal launched her debut collection at the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in 2011 and Mercedes-Benz Fashion week Australia in 2012 with the support from her college, an honor afforded to very few students twice. Her design work bridges cultural and educational traditions between China and Australia.
In 2012, due to her passion for providing support to the emerging design community, she founded the Company B Creative Production Pty Ltd. The company is an incubator committed to bringing opportunity to creative talents in Australia. Crystal makes frequent visits to Beijing to curate a fashion expedition between Australia and China, to promote fashion talents in both continents.
Since 2012, Crystal has played a central role in the production of the Raffles International Showcase at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion week. In April 2014, Crystal successfully brokered a two-year partnership between the organising committee of China Graduate Fashion Week and Raffles College of Design and Commerce to showcase the work of recent fashion graduates from Australia.
In 2014 Crystal gained the position of Assistant Program Director of Fashion Design. Crystal is now working towards the facilitation of workshops and student exchange programs between Australia and China.
Kimberley Wilson
Australian delegate
Kimberley Wilson joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as a RAAF Officer Cadet in January 2003 and attended the Australian Defence Force Academy graduating with a Bachelor Arts (Indonesian) in 2005.
Kimberley was first posted to Joint Operations Command to gain experience in planning, supporting and executing operations before being assigned to support Air Force air mobility assets including C-130H/J Hercules and C-17 Globemaster medium and heavy-lift transport aircraft.
Kimberley has also been posted to Border Protection Command where she was able to work with a range of national and international partners on security operations of mutual interest. In 2013, Kimberley commenced work on an Air Force project which will deliver a system to process, exploit and disseminate information received from manned and unmanned aircraft.
She has served on numerous operations deploying in 2007 and 2009 to support air mobility assets operating in the Middle East and again in 2011 to support Heron Remotely Piloted Aircraft operations in Afghanistan.
Kimberley is currently a Squadron Leader in the RAAF, has completed a Master of Policing, Intelligence Counter Terrorism, holds a Certificate III in Group Fitness and is currently studying Mandarin. Kimberley has a keen interest in international affairs and hopes to focus her attention on Sino-Australian relations with the intent to one day represent the Australian Defence Force in an official capacity at the Australian Embassy in Beijing.
Francis Yang
Chinese delegate
Francis Yang works in Hong Kong as a solicitor at DLA Piper in the Finance & Projects group, where he has been acting for Chinese state-owned enterprises and multinational companies on cross-border transactions including M&A, project finance and dispute resolution. Francis has been admitted as a solicitor and barrister in the Supreme Court of New South Wales since 2011 and will be admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 2014.
Francis holds double bachelor degrees in law and commerce (accounting & finance) from the University of Melbourne. As part of his undergraduate studies Francis spent a semester abroad at Duke Law School, USA.
Francis has travelled extensively throughout different countries and has lived in seven different cities across Australia, China and USA including Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Shanghai, Hong Kong etc. He enjoys hiking, sports climbing, Chinese history and fine arts. Francis is a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese, Shanghainese and Changzhou dialect, and he is fluent in English.
Mike Yang
Chinese delegate
Mike was the 2013 Australian recipient of Eminent Overseas Young Chinese, organised by the State Council of China. He was specially appointed by the Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University to sit on its first Alumni Council. Mike has been extensively involved in the Chinese community. In 2013 Mike was both the organizer and host for a cultural gala that celebrated Australia - China relations with 3000 people at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Mike was a senior adviser to the Leader of the Opposition in Victoria on multicultural and China affairs between 2011 and 2013. He formulated and implemented strategies for the Leader of the Opposition and its shadow cabinet. In 2012 he planned and joined the Leader’s first trip to China.
In November 2013 Mike resigned from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and founded the Australian - Hubei Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber serves as a platform for Chinese-Australian entrepreneurs like himself to do business in Australia.
Born in Wuhan, China, Mike came to Australia to study in 2003 after high school in Singapore. He received a scholarship student from the University of Melbourne and graduated with a commerce degree. As an Australian accredited simultaneous interpreter between English and Mandarin and translator between English and Chinese, Mike is the Ambassador for RMIT University's translating and interpreting studies.
A soccer fan Mike is also Soccer Australia's Community Ambassador for the 2015 Asian Cup.
Katrina Yu
Australian delegate
Katrina Yu is a Beijing-based journalist and television presenter. She currently hosts ‘Travelogue’, the flagship feature program of CCTV’s English news channel CCTV News. She joined the show in late 2013 and has since filmed and presented episodes exploring travel destinations in Yunnan, Fujian, Jilin and Henan. Katrina is also a co-founder of ‘Beijing Blend,’ a weekly bilingual Wechat magazine exploring the capital’s events, society and culture.
Before moving to Beijing she was based in Sydney working as a television journalist for Australian public broadcaster SBS World News. During her three years with SBS she reported on a range of issues – from politics, crime and the environment, to culture and entertainment. She also travelled as a correspondent, filing feature stories from Singapore, the Philippines and Hong Kong. Aside from conventional broadcast reporting she enjoys working as a solo video-journalist and has also freelanced as a feature writer for various online and print media.
In 2013 she was nominated as a finalist for both the Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards and Kennedy Awards Young Journalist of the Year. Before beginning her media career Katrina received the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, moving to the United Kingdom to undertake her Masters degree in International Studies and Diplomacy at University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. She previously completed her MA in Journalism at the University of Technology in Sydney.
Jing Zhang
Chinese delegate
Upon completing high school in China, Elva Jing Zhang went to Australia to pursue higher education. While undertaking a combined degree in Law & Arts (International Studies/Political Science) at the University of Melbourne, Elva joined the Australian Federation of International Students (‘AFIS’). She subsequently became the President of AFIS and worked closely with local city councils and the Victorian Multicultural Commission on various projects that promoted the wellbeing of international students.
After being qualified as a lawyer in 2007, Elva began her legal career in Australia, working in law firms and also as a legal counsel for an Australian-based international shipping line. During this time, she was an active member of the Young Lawyers Section of the Victorian Law Institute and also volunteered as a pro-bono solicitor at the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre. In addition to her professional commitments, Elva undertook a part-time Graduate Diploma in International Law at the University of Melbourne between 2010 and 2013.
In July 2013, Elva moved to Geneva, Switzerland to undertake a one-year LL.M in International Law (specialising in International Economic Law) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Since January 2014, Elva has been a research intern at the China Programme of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, and is currently interning at the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime.
Elva speaks Mandarin Chinese, English (fluently) and Cantonese Chinese (proficiently).
Zhao Xinyu Foundation for Australian Studies Fellow
Chinese delegate
Zhao Xinyu is a master of arts candidate in the culture of English speaking countries at Renmin University China (RUC) and a member of its Australian Studies Centre. Zhao Xinyu studied at RUC and gained his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature in 2012. His research interests lie in Western images of China, Australian Studies, and China-Australia relations.
Zoe Zhou
Chinese delegate
Zoe Zhou works in China for Bain & Company, the global management consulting firm. Previously, Zoe worked for Opportunity International, an Australian based micro-finance NGO with activites in South-East Asia and a strong global network.
Zoe graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and holds a BA degree in management. A a talented musician, Zoe plays the oboe. She has travelled extensively and performed with symphony orchestras all over the world during university.
With a great interest in the bilateral relationship between Australia and China, as well as an understanding of the needs of professionals, she believes it is up to young leaders to lead the way in creating strong bilateral relationships.