Date & Time: 14:30-17:00
Location: CKGSB New Beijing Campus, No 125 Guangqumennei Street, Dongcheng District
Format: In-person, closed-door
Language: English
Organizer: Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
As global automotive players navigate widespread electrification challenges, China has grown into the world’s largest EV manufacturer and exporter, completing an industrial transformation from follower to global leader.
Today’s auto competition is no longer limited to products and pricing; it has evolved into comprehensive rivalry over scale innovation, industrial ecosystems, regulatory standards and governance capabilities. European automakers are grappling with overcapacity and price wars in Europe, alongside fragmented cross-border data regulations and divergent carbon standards in China.
Meanwhile, Chinese EV exports face mounting US and EU trade barriers, prompting Chinese carmakers to adopt a “new Chinese-style” global expansion model. Navigating this dynamic market successfully poses a major challenge for all auto players. Backed by integrated supply chains and a vast domestic market, China has become a critical testing ground where a growing number of European auto firms anchor key pillars of their global strategies.
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) and The European Chamber and cordially invite you to this joint seminar. Keynote speaker Professor LI Wei, a distinguished CKGSB expert on China’s economy, business and EV sector, together with representative from enterprise will shed light on the current state of the EV market in China, unpack the logic of “new Chinese-style” global expansion, analyze China’s systemic industrial competitiveness via flagship local EV brand cases, compare EU-China institutional frameworks to uncover cooperation prospects, and explore business opportunities for European auto players in China.
Phone: +86 10 8518 8858 ext. 3235
E-mail: wli@ckgsb.edu.cn
Professor of Economics, Associate Dean for Asia and Oceania, Director of Case Research Department and Director of Big Data Economic Research Department, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB)
PhD, University of Michigan
Areas of Expertise: Corruption, Financial Markets, Macroeconomics, Managerial Incentives and Market Competition, Real Estate, Reform, Taxation, Telecommunications Privatization, Valuation in Emerging Markets
Dr. Li is Professor of Economics, Associate Dean for Asia and Oceania, Director of Case Research Department, and Director of Big Data Economic Research Department at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB). Before joining CKGSB, Dr. Li was Professor of Business Administration (with tenure) at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia, where he has served on the faculty since 2000. Since 2005, Dr. Li has also served as visiting Professor of Economics on the faculty of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. Before joining Darden faculty, Dr. Li was assistant professor and then associate professor of business administration at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business from 1994 to 2000. He was also a visiting professor of strategy at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management in 2004. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan and his B.Eng. from Shanghai Jiaotong University (China).
An authority on Chinese economy and business, Dr. Li’s main research focus is on economic development, taxation, financial markets, corruption, corporate governance, corporate research and development, entrepreneurship, trade and investment in China. His work has been published in prominent academic journals and books, and some of his research results have also been featured in Foreign Affairs, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and on CNNfn (CNN Money) and Bloomberg TV. Professor Li has extensive consulting experience with multinational firms, Chinese firms, and the World Bank.
Dr. Li has taught Macroeconomics, Global Economies and Markets, Managerial Economics, and Emerging Markets Finance in MBA, Finance MBA, EMBA, and Global EMBA, and Executive Education programs.
Ms. Dai has over 20 years of experience in the data and information services industry, with a long-standing focus on global business compliance and cross-border risk management. She joined Dow Jones, a global leader in financial and business information services, in early 2008. As a member of the Asia-Pacific management team and head of China business development, she oversees China’s market growth strategy and leads her team in providing multinational corporations—particularly leading automakers, new energy vehicle manufacturers, financial institutions, and research organizations—with one-stop cross-border information and compliance risk management solutions. Her core areas of expertise include sanctions compliance, export controls, international trade compliance, and cross-border risk management.
She has conducted in-depth research on the compliance risks facing globalizing enterprises amid Sino-European dual regulatory conflicts, led the implementation of compliance frameworks for the leading international automakers in China, and provided comprehensive, full-lifecycle risk management services for Chinese new energy vehicle companies expanding into Europe.
Prior to this, she worked at LexisNexis, a legal information provider, where she delivered global legal information solutions to professionals including law school professors, attorneys, and corporate legal counsel. This background gives her a unique, hybrid professional perspective that combines foundational legal reasoning with hands-on compliance implementation across real business cases.
Joakim Diamant currently serves as Head of Public Affairs, Scania Group China. He has been the Business Development Director at the Scania China Strategic Office since 2013. Prior to this, he worked at the Scania Head Office in Sweden from 2011 to 2013. Joakim also has a background in international trade and promotion, having worked at the Swedish Embassy in Beijing from 2005 to 2011, where he was involved in the Swedish Embassy CSR Centre and the Department for Economic Affairs & Trade Promotion. Before his diplomatic posting, Joakim gained experience at Zeller & Co AB from 2004 to 2005 and at Bulten Fasteners China from 2000 to 2001. He previously served as National Vice-Chair of the European Chamber’s Automotive Working Group. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Vaxjö University and a Bachelor of Arts from Lund University, both located in Sweden.
Dr. Gianni Di Giovanni Committee member of European Chamber of Commerce, Vice President of European Chamber of Commerce; Chairman, Eni China BV; Chairman, Eni Energy China, EVP, Eni China Rep Office.
Dr. Di Giovanni was born on July 3, 1963, Italy. He degreed in Rome and obtained a Harvard master’s degree in Energy and Climate Change. He is the States’ Representative of European Chamber since 2023.
Ms. Ira Zaka heads Global Marketing and Communications at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB). Established in November 2002, CKGSB is China’s first faculty-governed and independent business school. Today, CKGSB has more than 40+ full-time professors, many of whom held tenured positions at leading business schools like Wharton and Yale, and over 20,000 alumni, more than half of whom are at the CEO or Chairman level and, collectively, lead one fifth of China’s most valuable brands.
Since 2010, Ira has enhanced CKGSB’s brand by organizing global business forums, overseeing public relations and social media, and managing partnerships worldwide. She has also enabled CKGSB’s growth in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
A graduate of Princeton University, Ira has spent over 30 years in China, where she has studied and worked for companies like Amazon and Hogan Lovells, primarily managing public relations and communications efforts.
Ira is fluent in Albanian, Chinese and English.
Ms. Xiaolu Chen has 15+ years’ experience on policy research in auto industry. Her expertise covers new energy vehicle, environment, decarbonization, sustainability, etc.
She has worked for EUCCC carbon market working group as Vice chair in 2024 and established communication mechanism with CN governments in the topics relevant to auto industry e.g. Green Electricity consumption/GEC, product carbon footprint, green charging, etc.
She is currently National Chair of the Automotive working group.
