Chicago Council Honors Chinese Economist as 2013 Scholl Fellow
October 21, 2013 – The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is honoring Yu Yongding, a distinguished Chinese economist, as its 2013 Dr. Scholl Foundation Visiting Fellow on US-China Relations. Yu is a leading authority on China’s macroeconomic and international monetary issues, and is consulted regularly on world capital markets and China’s Central Bank decisions. He will spend four weeks in Chicago, from October 21 to November 12, and will deliver the Council’s annual Dr. Scholl Foundation Lecture on the evening of November 4.
Yu has served as a member of the monetary policy committee of the People's Bank of China, as well as the advisory committee of national planning of the Commission of National Development and Reform of the PRC. His comments have often resulted in international currency fluctuations. From 2008 to 2009, Yu was a member of the United Nations' monetary and financial reform committee, chaired by the Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz, and participated in designing the reform of the global reserve system.
"We are delighted to host such an influential Chinese leader," said Ambassador Ivo H. Daalder, president of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "This is an important area of focus for the Council and Chicago. The US and China are inexorably linked; the world looks to us to cooperate on a range of global issues."
"It is a great honor to be selected as The Chicago Council’s first Scholl Fellow," said Yu. "I am looking forward to making my humble contribution to the mutual understanding between the two great nations—the United States and China."
Yu will help the Council bring attention to Chicago’s extensive economic ties to China. According to World Business Chicago, mainland China is the Chicago area's largest global trade partner. Imports to the Chicago Customs District totaled $51.2 billion in 2012 and exports from Chicago totaled $4.3 billion. More than 140 Chicago area companies have subsidiaries in China, and the Chicago area is home to 40+ mainland Chinese-owned companies. Ethnic Chinese own nearly 7,000 business establishments in the Chicago area, and 75,000 Chinese-Americans live in the Chicago area.
"This fellowship builds upon the Dr. Scholl Foundation’s longstanding support of The Chicago Council’s work on US-China relations," said Rachel Bronson, vice president of studies at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
The Dr. Scholl Foundation funded establishment of the fellowship in November 2012 to help build Chicago-China institutional ties, advance dialogue between Chicagoans and Chinese experts, and enhance Chicago’s relevance and visibility with Chinese leaders.
During Dr. Yu’s residency in Chicago, the Council will organize seminars on US-China economic relations with local and regional stakeholders. He will meet and engage with local thought leaders, institutions, city government officials, the media, as well as leading corporations and their executives.
Yu, who will serve as the Council’s first Scholl Fellow, is currently an academician and senior fellow in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and editor-in-chief of China & World Economy. He is a regular contributor to Project Syndicate, and has authored, coauthored, and edited more than 10 books, and published more than 100 papers on macroeconomics, world economy, and other subjects in various academic journals.
CONTACT: Samantha Skinner
312.821.7507 Direct | sskinner@thechicagocouncil.org
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, founded in 1922, is a prominent, independent and nonpartisan organization committed to influencing the discourse on global issues through contributions to opinion and policy formation, leadership dialogue, and public learning. Learn more at thechicagocouncil.org and follow @ChicagoCouncil for updates.
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