Ker intertwines the story of his family - including an opium addict, an American codebreaker, and a Chinese revolutionary - with broader geopolitical themes.  As an American businessman of recent Chinese ancestry, he had firsthand access to leaders on both sides and provides insightful analysis on why tensions between the US and China have escalated, threatening global commerce and stability.

He discusses how to think about China and what it takes to succeed there, whether it’s navigating the narrow corridor between what China wants and what the US and other foreign players allow, partnering with rather than competing against local players, or structuring businesses to minimise risk.  He argues that China is neither the unstoppable juggernaut that foreign hawks sometimes describe, nor is it at risk from the weight of its own contradictions.
 
Ker Gibbs is from the United States and arrived in China in 1985, when most people still wore Mao suits and the average income was just US$300 a year.  He met up with his mother’s older sister, the who stayed behind when his mother fled China during the 1949 revolution.  He then spent the next four decades in China witnessing in its economic miracle.  

At the Boston Consulting Group, he worked with state-owned enterprises emerging as giants. At HSBC, he helped finance some of China’s future technology giants – Alibaba, Baidu and Huawei – that would become well known inside and outside of China. Later, as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, he sat across from American policy makers and Chinese officials at the centre of the political system.

Members of the RGS, their guests and others are most welcome to attend this event, which is HK$200 for RGS Members and HK$250 for guests and others.  This talk is free of charge for student members. 

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The opinions expressed in this event are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of the Royal Geographical Society - Hong Kong.