Joel Ruet and irina Bokova of The Bridge Tank speak at the BOAO Forum 2019
The Boao Forum 2019 took place between the 26th and the 29th March, themed: ‘Shared Future, Concerted Action, Common Development’. The Opening Plenary Session was held by the Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who highlighted the importance of a mutually beneficial cooperation in the face of world economic headwinds. He added that China would not resort to massive economic stimulus to boost growth, but would continue to open up and innovate to energize market players and strengthen endogenous stimulation for economic development.
The Bridge Tank has been a partner of the forum since 2018, and was this year represented by president Joël Ruet, who took part in several key events:
- Panelist at the session titled: ‘The Future of the Sharing Economy’, moderated by Lu Binbin, founder of BinBinBang and producer of E-Talking. Other panelists included Yunfeng Bai, President of the Tal Education Group, Kelvin Chen, co-founder and CEO of Xiaoshu.com, Marsha Ma, Vice-President and Managing Director of China Booking.com, Ming Maa, President of Grab, and Mi Wenjuan, Founder and CEO of VIPKID.
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- Attended a closed door session organized by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and former UNSG Ban-ki-moon.
- Interviewed on several occasions by Chinese and international press, notably on the midday show of the national channel CGTN. Other guests included Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister, and Xu Tiebing, Professor at the Communication University of China.
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- Attended the ‘She Economy’ roundtable, organized by famous newscaster Lu Binbin. Ruet was the only foreign delegate to be invited to this discussion between Chinese CEOs and business owners.
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- Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO and The Bridge Tank board member also attended the forum, taking part notably in two panels: ‘A Sustainable Future for Rural Asia and Cities’ and the roundtable: ‘The Power of Women and the Value of Balance’.
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China-US : What rivalry regarding investment and innovation?
On March 11, 2019, as part of the “Transatlantic Exchanges Series”, The Bridge Tank and France-Amériques co-organised a conference on “China-United States: further than the hot and cold about trade, what rivalry regarding investment and innovation?”
Joël Ruet, President of The Bridge Tank, Jean-Claude Beaujour, Vice-President of France-Amériques & Board Member of The Bridge Tank, and François Quentin, former Deputy Director-General of Thales and former Chairman of the Executive Board of Huawei France, were the conference’s keynote speakers.
François Quentin presented Huawei as a company with fantastic growth, especially in the last twenty years. However, Western countries and consumers tend to remain critical towards this group, despite a sales policy centred around customers and great attention paid to suppliers, he argued. Yearly bonuses are notably paid through stock exchange shares, and former employees are considered to be highly employable by many other companies.
In addition to the founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, three administrators, sometimes referred to as three CEOs, share among themselves the direction of the three main parts of the company: strategy, operations, and resources & development. Despite it being in the common interest for Huawei and the United States to stay in good terms, the company could make itself independent from Google and other American firms if the Sino-American trade war was to continue. Along with other factors, the American position could lead Huawei to increasingly centralise its activity in China.
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The Bridge Tank attends the 2019 Davos Forum
Between the 22nd and the 25th of January 2019, the World Economic Forum held its annual meeting in Davos. It gathered experts and personalities around the theme “Globalisation 4.0: creating a global architecture at the age of the fourth industrial revolution”. The Bridge Tank was represented by its chairman Joël Ruet and its board member Pranjal Sharma, advisor at the Davos WEF and contributing editor at Business Standard and Business World. Pranjal Sharma discussed with Klaus Schwab, creator of the Forum, about his book “Kranti Nation”.
The Bridge Tank attends the 62nd Congress of the Liberal International with Presidents Ouatara and Sall of Ivory Coast and Senegal
The Liberal International 62nd Congress took place between the 28th and the 30th of November 2018 in Dakar, Senegal.
On this occasion, amongst the keynote speakers present were African presidents and heads of state members of the Liberal International, including the President of Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara, the Senegalese President Macky Sall and the exiting chairman of the Liberal International Juli Minoves. They discussed the expansion of the Liberal International in other African countries and the limitations of presidential mandates and rewriting of constitutions. President Ouattara encouraged his Senegalese counterpart to follow his example, repeating his promise not to candidate again at the end of his second mandate, arguing that the two mandates limitation was a key element to maintaining democracy in Africa. President Sall acknowledged this statement whilst reminding his audience that legally the amendment of the Senegalese constitution to limit the exercise of power to two mandates did not apply to his first mandate.
The 62nd Liberal International Congress: our Board member Hakima el Haite elected as LI’s new president
The Liberal International 62nd Congress took place between the 28th and the 30th of November 2018 in Dakar, Senegal.
On this occasion, African presidents and heads of state members of the Liberal International were among the keynote speakers, including the President of Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara, the Senegalese President Macky Sall and the exiting chairman of the Liberal International Juli Minoves. They exchanged about the expansion of the Liberal International to other African countries, and discussed limitations of presidential mandates and rewriting of constitutions. President Ouattara encouraged his Senegalese counterpart to follow his example, repeating his promise not to be candidate to a re-election at the end of his second mandate and arguing that the two mandates limitation was a key element to maintaining democracy in Africa. President Sall acknowledged whille reminding that legally the amendment of the Senegalese constitution to limit the exercise of power to two mandates did not apply to his first mandate.
Hakima El Haite, member of the Bridge Tank’s board, was elected as the new president of the Liberal International, becoming the first African woman to hold this position.
Joël Ruet attended this election, along with several current or former heads of government. Among them was Cellou Dallein Diallo, former Guinean Prime Minister and candidate to the Guinean presidential election. Him and The Bridge Tank have already worked together in the past, notably on the Climate Summit for local and regional leaders of November 2016.
This edition of the congress included the launch of the Climate Justice Committee, and working sessions on gender equality to which Joël Ruet participated. These work sessions notably focused on the barriers to and opportunities for women’s full and equal political participation.
The 62nd Liberal International Congress – our Board member Hakima el Haite elected as LI’s new president
The Liberal International 62nd Congress took place between the 28th and the 30th of November 2018 in Dakar, Senegal.
During this congress, Hakima El Haite, member of the Bridge Tank’s board, was elected as the new president of the Liberal International, becoming the first African woman to hold this position.
Joël Ruet attended this election, along with several current or former heads of government. Among them was Cellou Dallein Diallo, former Guinean Prime Minister and candidate to the Guinean presidential election. Him and The Bridge Tank have already worked together in the past, notably on the Climate Summit for local and regional leaders of November 2016.
The Bridge Tank at the annual meeting of the Western Returned Scholars Association
On September 17-18, 2018, the annual meeting of the Western Returned Scholars Association (WRSA) took place in Xi’An, China. This association, which was created in 1913, counts over 40,000 scholars and is chaired by Chen Zhu, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and former Chinese Minister of Health.
Joël Ruet, President of The Bridge Tank, took part in the Franco-Chinese Cultural Forum organised by the association. As one of its co-founders, The Bridge Tank also attended the inauguration of the new Belt and Road Research Institute of the WRSA. This institute focuses on three pillars, two of which the Bridge Tank made recommendations on, i.e. energy transition and the diversity of globalisation.
On the occasion of the inauguration, Joël Ruet was pleased to meet again with chairman Chen Zhu.
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The Bridge Tank delegation contributes to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation 2018 edition in Beijing
The Heads of States Forum on China-Africa Cooperation took place the 3rd and 4th of September 2018.
The Bridge Tank was represented by its chairman Joël Ruet and two of its associate experts, William Nkontchou, Director at Emerging Capital Partners and Member of Choiseul Africa, and Zhang Yang, expert on China-Europe-Africa cooperation. They took part in the high-level discussion between Chinese – African leaders and business communities, notably with leaders of the most prominent China-Africa Funds, discussing Chinese investments in Africa and Chinese loans to Africa, as well as the lack of equity investment on the continent by Chinese companies
Joël Ruet also took part in the official program of the national television channel CGTN on that occasion, and exchanged with Yang Rui, in CGTN most sought after Policy show, « Dialogue ».
Our Board member, Minister Hamed Semega, High Commissionner of the OMVS, the riverine international organization of the Senegal River Basin, was also present as part of the official delegation.
Energy Transition: An Opportunity to Improve the Industrialisation of Territories
Energy transition towards low-carbon production models, underway at the global level, is appearing to many as a driver of industrial growth. This Policy Brief highlights that this is only possible by combining the innovation and revitalization of industrial sectors historically present in the concerned areas.
To meet the challenge of a successful energy transition, we cannot ignore the specific industrial trajectories of each area. We should actually capitalise on these historical resources in order to benefit from new, ‘clean’, and inexhaustible resources.
This Policy Brief puts forward the systemic factors that appear to be indispensable for the ‘integrated’ success of energy transition. It leans particularly on the Brazilian example and on the potential for cogeneration within the reach of the sugar cane agribusiness and wind energy industries. The French example is also a good prism through which to understand the importance of ethical industrial trajectories that continue to make sense today in the diversification of the national energy mix, reflected by the shipbuilding industry and the role it plays in the development of renewable marine energy. More in french…