Leading Chinese captain of industry to speak at Korn Convocation Hall

The United States House of Representatives once named him “People’s Ambassador to the United States.” The International Longshoremen’s Association has hailed him as a “Guardian of American Workers.” To Business Week, a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg, he was one of China’s most powerful and influential people of 2009.

On March 5, Jiafu Wei, the holder of these honors and many more, will discuss ways that America can capitalize on Chinese business and investment opportunities here and in China. His talk and a subsequent question and answer session, sponsored by the UCLA’s International Institute, Center for Chinese Studies and Anderson School of Management, will be held in Korn Convocation Hall from 4 – 5:15 p.m. Registration for this event is strongly recommended.

“There will be more and more Chinese investment coming to the U.S, which is part of the ongoing globalization process, says Professor Yunxiang Yan, director of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, noting that this investment is expected to have a considerable impact on California due to several existing social, cultural and geographical factors. “It is very important for us to understand historical change and the business opportunities associated with this change,” he says. “In light of this, we want to create a platform for dialogue and mutual understanding.”

Wei is chairman of the board and secretary of the Party Committee of the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO Group), an organization he has held a variety of senior management roles with and has helped to steer for more than 20 years. COSCO serves a number of West Coast ports and is the largest operational carrier serving the Port of Long Beach. In addition, the company is the largest Chinese employer of American workers in the United States.

Over the span of his career, Wei has played an integral role in transforming COSCO into one of the world's largest and most successful logistics providers with $17 billion in revenue and more than 800 ships in its fleet.

His list of achievements and recognition across China and elsewhere is extensive. In addition to the titles previously mentioned, he has also been named among the “Outstanding Business Leaders in Ten Years” by China Central Television and one of the “30 Most Influential People in China's Economy, 1978-2008” by People’s Daily. In April 2011, he was named “Honorary Chief Commander with Four Star Rank of Massport Police” by the American Association of Port Authorities Security Committee and the Massachusetts Port Authority.