Korn Convocation Hall was nearly filled to capacity on Friday as students, business executives and Hollywood producers gathered to discuss economic relations between the United States and China.
Two hundred people filled the hall, for the second annual Wilbur K. Woo Greater Chinese Business Conference hosted by the Harold and Pauline Price Center and the Greater China Business Association.
Attendees participated in the day-long event, which featured a keynote speech and four panels of experts discussing their specialized economic fields: investment, entertainment, real estate and business.
Clifton Chang, an Asia-Pacific regional manager for Johnson & Johnson, spoke of the importance of the conference, citing the increased economic competition in China.
“It’s the Wild West,” Chang said. “A commitment and better understanding of China is necessary because Chinese is going to be the dominant language of the future.”
Organizers said the event was designed so students could make business connections and exchange ideas about the social implications of China’s explosive growth and increasing entrepreneurial vision.
Michael Yuann, a graduate student in business, said he was excited about the growth, and that he attended the event to make business connections for a career in China.
“I’m here for networking (and) to establish relationships with people who know about Chinese activities,” Yuann said.
“I have cultural connections there and am excited about the opportunities,” he added.
Preceding the panel session was the keynote address delivered by Clarence Kwan, a national managing partner of the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche.
“China is a game-changer,” Kwan said. “In a sense, they are shaping or restructuring the global trend.”
He credited China’s success to the shift toward an export-orientated economy and an increase in productivity, while acknowledging the unstable nature of rapid growth centered on the coastal regions.
“Imbalanced growth leads to instability,” Kwan said. “But China is making efforts to move towards a more balanced economy.”
Kwan also spoke on the balance between China’s socialism and increasing capitalism as China enters into economic cooperation with industrial democratic countries such as the United States.
“Democracy and free market don’t necessarily go hand in hand,” Kwan said. “Free market is about economic exchange without influence from any party. The government is more like a referee.”
The conference has been hosted annually by the UCLA International Institute since 2001.
Woo is vice chairman emeritus of Cathay General Bancorp and a UCLA alumnus.
The conference was renamed for Woo and moved to the Anderson School after he made a significant donation.