A riotous evening, both entertaining and informative and as one audience member commented, 'Mark, you are fun!'.

One review reads: 'Anyone who has spent just one year in the Middle Kingdom qualifies as an old China hand, and for such people, this book is an absolute must-read, a catharsis in effect. For those unfamiliar with the People’s Republic of China, this novel offers a unique introduction to society.'

Dinner Speaker Event with British historian and travel writer, John Man. 

he aim of this event was to support recent graduates and final year students with Chinese language skills and to give them insights into how to make the most of their language abilities in the workplace.

​

The event was run as a forum with a panel of professionals who are currently using Mandarin in their work and had been invited to share their experiences, hints and tips on how to find a job where you can use your Mandarin.

​

We were delighted to collaborate with the British Council on this event, who will be present to share their insights into this topic and offer advice to those present.

Chaired by Theresa Booth – joint CEO Chopsticks Club

A webinar to combine two of the most pressing current global issues; boosting the global economy, and tackling Climate Change.

How can China's Belt & Road Initiative ('BRI') support rather than negate efforts to tackle global climate change? Why is this important and why has the BRI been singled out? It is because of the size & potential of the BRI, which currently includes 140 countries, companies & organisations. Without these BRI projects being environmentally sustainable, the opportunity to successfully tackle global climate change may well be lost. To answer this challenging dilemma, expert speaker, Jinny Yan, talked about the benefits of the Belt & Road Green Finance Index.

Jinny Yan is Managing Director & Chief China Economist for ICBC Standard Bank. Jinny is an experienced China Economist and China product specialist with a demonstrated history of working across client-facing roles of the banking industry. Her work focuses on China macro, fixed income markets, and she initiated the BRI Indices at the Bank in 2017. Jinny is an experienced speaker in the media and at large conferences. 

Alex Clark is a DPhil candidate in the School of Geography and the Environment, where his research focuses on the identification and transmission of fossil-fuel related stranded asset risks in the public sector, and how governments and their agents should respond to these risks.  Alex is a Consultant to the Climate Policy Initiative and the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University.

Brian O’Callaghan is a DPhil (PhD) student at the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment, the University of Oxford. He is also a Consultant for the Robertson Foundation and on a leave of absence from the Boston Consulting Group. Brian is an Australian Rhodes Scholar.

Chopsticks Club collaborated with Ascot to celebrate the first British-China Raceday. Excellent networking, a sumptuous four course lunch and racing tips, which a few members wisely followed. A memorable and beautifully executed day.

Panellists were:

• Ed Brewster, UK Director of Communications for global Chinese multinational, Huawei, who will focus on corporate reputation for a western audience,

• George Wyndham, Founder &  Director of China Oracle, who previously worked in Shanghai developing market strategy for global brands including Mercedes-Benz, GE, & ExxonMobil.  George will cover how best to promote your brand in China and

• Simon Pendry, specialist in global packaging, and Creative Director for Pi Global, responsible for Europe & Asia

Chair: Chopsticks Club joint CEO, Theresa Booth

With a panel of experts, the various ramifications of President Xi's state visit for both sides of the UK-China relationship were discussed. Panellists were Davide Cottarelli from Varcale Capital Management representing wealth management in the arts sector, particularly film, Edward Radcliffe from Vermilion Partners representing China-UK investment, Roy Graff from ChinaContact an expert on China inbound tourism, and Keith Bennett, Deputy Chairman of the Global Group, who is an expert in Chinese political & business affairs.

In addition, H-J Colston, our Joint CEO shared her insights having had the honour of meeting President Xi during his State Visit to the UK.

Our thanks go to BNY Mellon for being the venue host for this event.

Sir Vince shared his views on China, followed by a questioning of these views by Tim Clissold, of 'Mr China' fame, business entrepreneur and sinophile and Jinny Yan, chief economic advisor for ICBC Standard Bank as well as Chopsticks Club, and the audience's pertinent & challenging questions.

Moderated by Theresa Booth

The Chopsticks Club’s project based Choir who only sing in Mandarin and who aim to bring the best of  Chinese Choral music to the UK held their second concert at the Cadogan Hall.​

VIP Guests included, His Excellency, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming.

Their works so far have been 

Yellow River Cantata and Dao. 

Their artistic Director, Nicholas Smith has been managing the choir for 5 years.

A networking Reception and Dinner with His Excellency, Ambassador Zheng Zeguang – a fundraising event for educational charity, Engage with China.