Qatar Leadership Centre Delegates Meet China s Government and Business Leaders

Beijing, June 27 (QNA) - A delegation representing the Qatar Leadership Centre (QLC) has concluded a ten-day study tour of three major Chinese cities: Beijing, Ordos and Tianjin. The delegation, consisting of more than 30 recent Qatari graduates, was led by Khaled Al-Jawhari, director of strategy and performance for QLC. HEC Paris, one of the world s most prestigious business schools, organized lectures, meetings and activities for the delegation. By attending lectures given by Chinese government officials and business leaders with commercial ties to Qatar, the delegation obtained information about China s economic, trade and public sectors so as to provide these future leaders of Qatar with valuable insights. The China tour began in the capital, Beijing, on June 18, with high-level lectures on urban planning given by Mr. Niu Xiong, associate researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council, and Fan Haoyi, consultant for the Sino-France Urban Sustainable Development Project. These two experts shared their unique perspectives on China s urban planning development, giving delegates an introduction to the details and local strategies of China s urban planning. The participants also engaged in discussion with the two experts according to their various fields of interest. Next, the delegation visited SINOHYDRO Corporation Ltd., for a panel discussion with SINOHYDRO leaders. Among the panelist was Hou Xiaotun, executive vice president of SINOHYDRO Corporation Ltd. The Qatari delegates were highly engaged the whole time and asked many questions based on their areas of expertise, to which the leaders of the company responded with thorough and detailed insights. At the conclusion of the event, QLC presented an official gift to SINOHYDRO to express the delegation s gratitude, and SINOHYDRO presented the delegation with traditional Chinese artwork as a symbol of the friendship between Qatar and China. In addition to the delegation s official meetings in Beijing, HEC Paris also organized a tour of the city s cultural sites such as the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, the National Center for the Performing Arts, traditional "hutongs," and the National Stadium (Bird s Nest) and National Aquatics Center (Water Cube), allowing delegates to gain a better understanding of Beijing s history and recent development, particularly in regard to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The second stop of the study tour was in Ordos, a major industrial city in China s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where delegates met the city s mayor and the president of Ordos Water Treatment Plant. Finally the delegation took a half-hour trip by high-speed railway to visit Tianjin, approximately 120km southeast from Beijing, for a tour of the Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA). At the conclusion of the study tour, the delegates prepared presentations summarizing their experiences during the China study tour and the outcomes of their meetings with Chinese government and business leaders.(QNA)