Wu Jianmin, a leading Chinese diplomat who has been part of China’s development into a global power, will speak on campus at a public lecture at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, in the library of Ida Noyes Hall.
The lecture, titled “The China-U.S. Relationship in a Changing World,” is part of the Global Voices program at International House and was organized with the help of the Confucius Institute at the University. The event is co-sponsored by the Chicago Society, the Committee on Chinese Studies of the Center for East Asian Studies, and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association.
Wu has worked in the field of international diplomacy for more than 40 years, beginning his career as an interpreter for some of China’s top leaders, including Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. In 1971, he became a member of China’s first Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
He later served as spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to the Netherlands, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and Ambassador to France.
Wu was a spokesman for China during its bid to host the 2000 Olympic games and played a role in his country’s bid for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.
Currently the Vice Chairman of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, Wu is a professor at China Foreign Affairs University and serves on the International Advisory Committee of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
—Prof. Jacqueline Stewart
