The Columbia China Summit was held on April 6-7 at Columbia University Business School’s new Manhattanville Campus. The predecessor signature event was organized by the Greater China Society of Columbia’s Business School as one of the most influential China-related business conferences in North America. Established in 2008, the conference aims to enhance an accurate and neutral understanding of China’s constantly evolving business and economic environment.
The 2024 Summit examines the profound and continuing transformation of China in the global arena. The “China Summit” focused on the complexities of China’s economic and investment landscape: particularly China’s manufacturing priorities, energy transition, and the reform of its internet companies. Such advancements and their impact on reshaping the global China economic narrative were a particular focus. The Summit was co-sponsored by the Columbia Global Center – Beijing, as the campus partner.
Eric Fang, a key international business executive with over 35 years of U.S.-China business engagement led an insightful panel discussion based on his personal and professional experiences. A recent highlight he described involved the efforts of Atlas Renewable, (of which he is CEO) delivered a renewable energy storage project under license with the US firm Energy Vault (NYSE: NRGV) to commercialize at scale of new Gravity Energy Storage system near Shanghai, China.
Fang further illustrated his ongoing involvement in international commercial activities with the establishment of Skytower Group to enter Saudi Arabia’s growing renewable energy market: concentrating on manufacturing and localization projects, high priorities of the Kingdom’s leadership within one year. Fang emphasized in response to numerous audience questions that the fundamentals of success in international markets are smart business engagement, local representation, and an in-depth understanding of local business policy, practice, and environment.
