Please note: CIC members will receive a discount code in the upcoming newsletter to receive a $10 discount.

Meet our speakers:

Bijan Ahmadi is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Canada China Business Council (CCBC), where he leads the Council’s strategic direction, operations, and programming across all seven chapters in Canada and China. He also serves on CCBC’s Board of Directors and its Executive Committee. As a recognized voice in Canada–China relations, Bijan works closely with senior executives, policymakers, and institutional partners to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties, advance member services, and position Canadian companies for success in the Chinese market. His work focuses on translating policy and regulatory developments into practical insights for business leaders and supporting high-level commercial engagement between the two countries.

Jia Wang is a Senior Fellow and Senior Advisor, and served as the Interim Director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, where she has managed research, programs, and government and media relations since 2011. She is also a non-resident Senior Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada. Jia has more than 17 years of direct management experience focusing on the economic and political dimensions of contemporary China and Canada-China relations in various capacities.

Diya Jiang is a researcher specializing in international trade and foreign policy, with a focus on supply chain geopolitics and economic statecraft. She is affiliated with the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary and the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS). Her recent work focuses on Canada–U.S.–China economic relations and the evolving politics of global trade. She is currently completing her PhD in Political Science at McGill University.

Joanna Chiu is an award-winning author and managing partner of Nüora Global Advisors, a consultancy providing organizations with critical insights into Asia. An internationally recognized authority on China, Chiu has more than 15 years of reporting and management experience at outlets including AFP, The Economist, and Foreign Policy. She has led teams as Vancouver bureau chief for Toronto Star and as China editor for Rest of World. Her global affairs columns appear in publications including Monocle and Globe and Mail. Chiu’s debut book, China Unbound, won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Chiu is also the founder and co-chair of NüVoices, a global editorial collective spotlighting women experts on China.