A Night in New York co-presented by China Entrepreneurs Forum, Prudential Financial, Inc. and Fosun Group with Keynote Address by President Bill Clinton
NEW YORK, April 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- On 11 April, a dinner reception themed "Glocal - Global Mindset, Local Capacity" was hosted by the China Entrepreneurs Forum at the Mandarin Oriental New York. President Bill Clinton, Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the 42nd President of the United States of America, was invited by Mr. Guo Guangchang, the Rotating President of the China Entrepreneurs Forum and Chairman of Fosun Group, to deliver a keynote speech during the dinner reception.
The dinner reception was co-hosted by Prudential Financial, Inc. and Fosun Group. Some 200 business leaders and entrepreneurs from China and the United States attended the event, including Tian Yuan, Chairman of China Entrepreneurs Forum; Chen Dongsheng, Board Chairman of China Entrepreneurs Forum and Chairman of Taikang Life; Mark Grier, Vice Chairman of Prudential Financial, Inc.; Wang Shi, Chairman of Vanke Group; Feng Lun, Chairman of Vantone Real Estate; Wang Wei, Chairman of China M&A Group; Liu Xiaoguang, General Manager of Beijing Capital Group; and Wesley R. Edens, Founder and Co-Chairman of Fortress Investment Group.
The open forum that followed President Clinton's remarks was moderated by Mr. Guo Guangchang. Mr. Guo and President Clinton first met 14 years ago when, during a visit to Shanghai, China in 1998, President Clinton invited a group of non-state-owned enterprise (Non-SOE) entrepreneurs for a discussion about the economy. Since then, Fosun Group has transformed from an institution investing in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors to an investment group that invests globally to leverage China's growth momentum. "Through this dinner, we hope to communicate to the political and business figures in the United States the changes that have occurred in the non-SOE economy", Mr. Guo said.
While discussing the development of China's private sector over the past fourteen years, President Clinton discussed the rapid development of the private sector. He also said that the private sector contributed enormously to the country's growth, including in the creation of new jobs.
Mr. Guo and Mr. Chen Dongsheng presented two souvenirs to President Clinton. One was a custom-made porcelain plate embellished with a photograph of President Clinton and his daughter that was taken in Yuyuan Shanghai during their visit to China in 1998. The second was a unique piece of wooden art from Dongyang in Zhejiang Province, a region renowned for its woodcrafts for thousands of years.
In addition to the remarks by President Clinton, guests also enjoyed two performances. The first was a Taichi demonstration called "The TaiChi Dance of Wall Street," which showcased the charisma and inner beauty of Eastern culture. Taichi performances have now evolved into a special event during Fosun Group's cultural exchange portion of its programs. The organizers also invited Hu Yongmei, a world-famous pianist currently residing in the United States, to perform "Three Chopin Preludes". The two performances, representing Eastern and Western cultures as well as martial art and musical art, expressed the evening's theme of "Global Mindset and Local Capacity" in a vivid way.
Established in 2000, the China Entrepreneurs Forum is among the most influential entrepreneurial organizations in China. The annual Yabuli Forum and China-US Business Leaders Summit in New York draw a tremendous following every year.
Prudential Financial, Inc. is a strategic partner of Fosun Group. Its collaboration with Fosun has led to an equity investment fund totaling US$600 million that focuses on the industries and sectors benefiting from China's economic growth. In September 2011, Prudential Financial, Inc. and Fosun Group announced they had received approval on the preparation to launch a joint venture life insurance company in China, further strengthening the partnership between the two enterprises.
Fosun Group will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2012 and will host a variety of activities to celebrate this milestone under the theme of "gratitude, culture and the future". This dinner reception gathered top business elites in China and the United States and represented an important milestone in Fosun's 20 year history. The event incorporated both Eastern and Western cultures and served as a high-level forum to exchange thoughts between the two cultures.
