In conversation with SCCEI Co-director Scott Rozelle, Zhenan Bao, K.K. Lee Professor of Chemical Engineering and former department chair of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, spoke about her journey to becoming a renowned chemical engineer and innovator and her passion for mentoring the next generation of innovators. 

Throughout the conversation, Professor Bao stresses the need for diversity and collaboration in order to foster an environment of innovation and creativity. She highlights this by sharing her path of discovery to inventing skin-like electronics, stating that it would not have been possible without the exchange of diverse ideas and collaboration with others across disciplines. She also emphasizes how important it is to use the skills and knowledge she has gained throughout her journey to mentor the next generation of innovators. 

Professor Bao concluded the conversation with a message to all, she said, “continue to collaborate, continue to work together. There are so many problems that society and mankind are facing, these are big problems that require everyone from around the world to solve…We need to understand each other to be able to set policies that will be able to advance solving these problems - it requires everyone's collaboration and investment to achieve this.”  

Listen to the full conversation between Professor Zhenan Bao and Professor Scott Rozelle here: 
 

Participants at the Stanford Asia Economic Forum, held at Capella Hotel in Singapore on January 14, 2023, explored the role that Asian countries and the U.S. can play in creating new ideas, sustainable practices, sound policies that spur global growth and economic development.

The forum was held by Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI), and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).

Nearly 400 people from around the world attended the event, including Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Stanford alumni and faculty, and industry leaders. The forum was hosted by Stanford University alumni Liqian Ma and Forrest Li, Chairman and Group CEO, Sea Ltd.

Stanford GSB Dean Jonathan Levin noted that Stanford began the forum in Beijing five years ago with the goal of building bridges and fostering open exchange of ideas. One of the key roles that great educational institutions can play, he said, is to promote greater mutual understanding across countries.

“Today, it is appropriate that we convene in Singapore, which is fast becoming a new center of gravity in Asia due to its openness to trade, immigration, ideas, and serves as a jumping off point for much of Southeast Asia,” Levin said. “Our hope is that the dialogue today will spark ideas that grow into new collaborations and solutions.”

Stanford professors Hongbin Li and Joseph Piotroski served as faculty directors for the forum, which featured panels addressing: Sustainability; Innovation Ecosystem of Southeast Asia; Productivity and Creativity in the Digital Era; Future of Life Sciences and Engineering for Humanity; Importance of Southeast Asia in the Global Economy and Geopolitics.

The Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions and Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis co-organized a closed-door roundtable on the scope, impact, and implications of China’s industrial policy. The roundtable focused on an intensified round of industrial policies in China that gained momentum around 2014. Beijing announced its “Made in China 2025” plan in 2015, quickly followed by its 2016 “Innovation-driven Development Strategy.” The strategy specifically focused on the emerging technological revolution, targeting sectors such as next generation information technology, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, and digital media. 

Since the announcements, industrial policy has increasingly become a central feature of Chinese economic development efforts and ongoing public debates about the future of U.S.-China competition and the global economic and geopolitical order. Around the world, effectiveness of national industrial policies has become a key point of policy and political contention. In addition, carefully judging the impact of Beijing’s industrial policy is also now critical to accurately assessing the long-term performance and sustainability of China’s economic growth model.

The full report on the roundtable, conducted under the Chatham House Rule, recounts a candid discussion that coalesced around the examination of five key questions:

1. How much is China spending on industrial policy?
2. What are the possible objectives of China’s industrial policy?
3. What have been the effects of China’s industrial policy?
4. What are the key, open questions still remaining around China’s industrial policy?
5. What are the implications for Washington, D.C. and the international community?

In partnership with Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis