China Studies Centre, University of Sydney
Jeanne-Marie Gescher
6.00pm – 7.00pm, Thursday 1 October 2015
New Law School Lecture Theatre 024
Law Building, Eastern Avenue, Camperdown, University of Sydney
China’s significance for the world is not, and never has been, economics. It is politics. Specifically, a desire for order that has challenged the country from at least 2,500 years BC. Across time, China has divided between those (rulers and their advisors) who believe that order depends on a single top, and those (deeper thinkers) who believe that only humility (the humility of a ruler to listen to the questions of the people) can deliver the understanding necessary for true order. In the 21st century, the age-old divide has been resurrected in battles over the rule of law. Even as a triumphal economic success appears to be tilting for a fall. There are a number of lessons to learn from the past. And there are many within China who are all too aware of them. After a turbulent summer, where is China likely to go next – and what are the likely consequences for those whose future fortunes are tied to its success?
Jeanne-Marie Gescher has been a leading figure in the corporate and legal world in China for over 25 years. An advisor to business and government, she is regarded as one of the most authoritative and thought-provoking observers of China and on the global order as seen through Chinese eyes. A barrister by profession, Jeanne-Marie’s early career included the practice of international law at the bar; advisory work with the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development and a lectureship at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Founder of one of the earliest private advisory firms in China, cga, and of a virtual think tank, cga.insight, her client work has touched almost every sector of the Chinese economy and addressed many of the most important issues that have shaped China over the past 20 years. In recent years, her attention has focused primarily on the relationship between China’s domestic policy and its increasingly active geopolicy. She has recently completed her first book, All Under Heaven: China’s Dreams of Order (to be published October 15, 2015). Jeanne-Marie has been honorary legal advisor to successive British Ambassadors to the PRC since 1989; she is a twice-elected chair of the British Chamber of Commerce and a longstanding advisor on China to global businesses, think-tanks and multilateral and non-governmental organisations. In 2002, Jeanne-Marie received an OBE for her work on China-UK dialogue. She is an ambassador for Leaders Quest.
For more information: http://whatson.sydney.edu.au/events/published/seminar-the-chinese-model