Diplomatic Negotiations with China

VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING  I  March 30  I  8:00 – 9:30 PM (EST)  I  MEMBERS-ONLY 

Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion on Diplomatic Negotiations with China, and gain valuable insights and advice from some of Canada’s most experienced diplomats. They will share their experiences negotiating trade deals, human rights issues, and other diplomatic challenges confronting Canada China relations. The panel is part of a skill-development series that seeks to provide our members and young professionals with insights into a skillset from experienced professionals that can support them in their career development.

Speakers: 

• Julia Bentley, Adjunct Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia
• Philip Calvert, Senior Fellow, China Institute, University of Alberta; Senior Research Associate, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria.
• Guy Saint Jacques, former Canadian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Global Affairs Canada; and Member of Advisory Board, Canada China Forum 

Julia Bentley holds a fellowship as an adjunct professor at University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs,. She is on leave from Global Affairs Canada, where she has held a variety of senior positions related to East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Her diplomatic assignments have included China (twice), Taiwan, India  and most recently, as Canada’s High Commissioner in Malaysia. Her professional experience in China also includes heading an international organization and managing a capacity building program for three years.

Philip Calvert is a Senior Fellow with the China Institute of the University of Alberta and a Senior Research Associate with the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives at the University of Victoria. He served in Beijing as a Trade Commissioner (1984-87), Economic Counsellor (1994-1997) and Minister & Deputy Head of Mission (2004-2008). In Global Affairs Canada he served as Director General for North Asia, Deputy Chief Negotiator for Canada during China’s accession to the WTO and as Director of the Technical Barriers to Trade Division. Most recently he spent 2012-2016 as Canada’s ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

Guy Saint-Jacques provides strategic advice on China. He sits on the board of directors of Xebec Adsorption Inc. and of the Foundation of the Montreal Clinical Research Institute. He is a Fellow of the China Institute of the University of Alberta and of the Institute of International Studies of Montreal. In addition, he is the Honorary Chairman of the Canada-China SME Group and of the China Policy Centre in Ottawa, as well as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Quebec Section of the Canada-China Business Council.

Previously, Mr. Saint-Jacques worked for Global Affairs Canada for nearly forty years, serving in Kinshasa, Hong Kong, Beijing, Washington, DC and London. He has served as Deputy High Commissioner in London and as Deputy Head of Mission in Washington. In Ottawa, among other things, he has worked in the divisions dealing with Science and Technology and Energy and Environment, in the Associate Deputy Minister’s Office and has been Director of Assignments and Director General of Personnel Management. In addition, Mr. Saint-Jacques was Canada’s Chief Negotiator and Climate Change Ambassador from 2010 to 2012 and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in the People’s Republic of China from 2012 to 2016. Mr. Saint-Jacques speaks Mandarin fluently.