Speaking at the US-China Innovation Dialogue

The final outcomes aren't public yet, but I thought this would be okay to share - I was invited by the White House to speak to the leaders of the United States and China’s innovation policies at the “6th US-China Innovation Dialogue” held at the US State Department on June 22. The meeting was co-chaired by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology head Minister Wan Gang, and The White House Office and Science and Technology Director Dr. John Holdren (both pictured having a quiet moment before the sessions began). I advocated for stronger IP rights as a way to reduce outside investor risk and enable a more diverse, innovation centric, economic base.

I won't characterize the discussions other than to say that it was an impressive group of senior representatives from both the US and China, and in a very real way, the right people were brought together. Beijing sent leaders from China's Ministry of Finance, the State Intellectual Property Office, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology, while the US had representatives from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Department of State, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Minister Wan and Director Holdren's leadership of the proceedings truly fostered a collaborative and constructive dialogue. Also noteworthy was Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister of the Chinese Embassy to the US, Wu Xi (pictured far right) who gave a beautiful and moving opening statement about how innovation and a culture of innovation can bring nations together.

I'm looking forward to seeing the outcomes of this meeting, and hope it can be a catalyst for more positive collaborations in the future.