The University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) has invited Professor Simon Evenett, author of the Hinrich Foundation sponsored Global Trade Alert report "Advancing sustainable development with FDI: Why policy must be reset", for a discussion on the key themes of the paper.

Outperforming aid, remittances and portfolio investments as the largest source of external funding, foreign direct investment (FDI) has played a central role in transforming economies. Governments are on record stating that they cannot finance and deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals without private sector engagement. However, FDI inflows are in decline since the Global Financial Crisis and the trend is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this webinar, panelists will examine the reasons behind the reduction in FDI flows and what can be done to reverse the course. As China surpasses the US as the largest recipient of FDI earlier this year according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), discussants from UIBE will share with us the importance of FDI to China's economy, and the impact of the country's investments overseas. Speakers include:

Simon Evenett, Founder, Global Trade Alert; Professor of International Trade and Economic Development and MBA Director, University of St. Gallen
Sheng Bin, Dean of the School of Economics, Nankai University
Cui Fan, Professor, School of International Trade and Economics, UIBE
Tu Xinquan, Dean of China Institute for WTO studies, UIBE (host)

***

Webinar dial-in details

Domestic participants: Tencent Meeting ID – 950 423 581
Overseas participants: Voov Meeting ID (English version of Tencent Meeting) – 950 423 581

Should you have any technical problems when using the English version of Tencent Meeting, please feel free to email: dustingao@uibe.edu.cn for guidance. The webinar will be open for test an hour ahead at 2pm (GMT +8), July 15, 2021.