Zhou Wenzhong Keynote Speaker

Zhou Wenzhong is a prominent Chinese diplomat and current Secretary General of the Boao Forum for Asia, a China-based non-profit organisation hosting high-level forums for leaders from government, business and academia in Asia and other continents.

His career in diplomacy and international affairs spans more than three decades, starting in 1975. From 2005 to 2010 he was China’s Ambassador to the USA. Prior to that he held leading posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served as Deputy Director of the American Affairs Department until 1994. In 2001 he was promoted as Assistant Minister and in 2003 he became Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1998 to 2001 he served as Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia.

Mr Zhou attended the University of Bath and the London School of Economics in the UK. He is a standing committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an influential political advisory body consisting of delegates from a range of political parties and organisations in China.