Fireside Chat with USF President Paul Fitzgerald and BAC President Jim Wunderman
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.