China Business Studies Initiative Hosts
Bay Area and China Relations Under the Biden Administration:
Fireside Chat with USF President Paul Fitzgerald and BAC President Jim Wunderman
June 1 | 2–3:15 p.m. (PT). Please register Here.
Bay Area, the 17th largest economy in the world, is the home to world-leading universities, technology leaders, thousands of innovative startups, and many of the world’s most highly capitalized companies. Many of those companies are global, and active in both trade and investment. The Bay Area is also a historic gateway to China, with the oldest and largest Chinese population, cultural fluency, and deep university and business ties witnessed by venture flows, R&D, and large numbers of Chinese students who study at Bay Area universities. Ripples in the US-China economic relations are felt throughout the region, and the trade war launched in 2016 by the Trump Administration and the subsequent deterioration in political relations have been damaging. The Biden Administration has brought policy change, but how much?
We have invited two prominent Bay Area leaders to share with you what they see occurring in the Biden Administration and how these changes impact the Bay Area, particularly in education and high technology. University of San Francisco President Paul Fitzgerald and Bay Area Council President Jim Wunderman will offer their views on the direction of the Biden administration’s China policies, strategies for how to navigate the uncertainties that are now deeply embedded in the US-China relationship, and the potential for continued cooperation between the Bay Area and China.
Sean Randolph, the senior director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, will introduce the topic for discussions and the session will be moderated by Peter Lorentzen, Professor of economics and the CBSI executive board member at University of San Francisco.
Featured Speakers:
Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald, SJ, 28th president of the University of San Francisco, entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1982, two years after graduating from Santa Clara University. He earned a second bachelor’s degree in Munich, Germany, did Theology studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and completed doctoral studies in Paris at the Sorbonne and the Institut Catholique. He taught as a visiting professor in Xiamen, China; Nairobi, Kenya; and Seattle. He worked as a faculty member and an administrator at Santa Clara University from 1997 to 2008 and then as VP for academic affairs at Fairfield University in Connecticut, until coming to USF in 2014. Fr. Fitzgerald has served on a variety of high school, university, and not-for-profit boards, including Loyola Marymount, Loyola Chicago, Loyola New Orleans, Mitty High School, and the Commonwealth Club.
Jim Wunderman is president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a CEO-led public policy and advocacy organization formed in 1945 that works to shape the future of the Bay Area and maintain it as the most innovative, globally competitive, and sustainable region in the world. Since becoming CEO in 2004, Jim has dramatically expanded and deepened the council’s reach and influence throughout the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, California, the nation and the world. He guided the council’s expansion into China with the opening of offices in four major cities and has established the council as a respected partner with business and government leaders in India, North America, the European Union and other countries around the globe. As the leading steward of the Bay Area, the council has grown under Jim’s tenure to include more than 325 member companies across a wide range of industries. He has positioned the council as a leading voice for business and the
economy on a wide range of issues.
