China Challenge Summit brings experts to UVU

OREM, Utah — Experts from around the country will gather in Orem on Thursday to discuss how China’s remarkable economic growth affects the U.S. and how the country should respond. 

The China Challenge Summit will be held at the Noorda Center at Utah Valley University from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will also be held virtually.

The event is meant to “provide private- and public-sector leaders with both strategic insight and tactical advice for operating in the current global environment,” according to UVU’s website.

The summit will feature a slew of speakers like the former ambassador to China and former Utah governor, Jon Huntsman.

Huntsman said the China Challenge Summit will be the most important gathering on the most important issue anywhere in the country this year.

The summit will also feature experts like Damien Ma, who is the managing director at the Paulson Institute.

Ma put into perspective how much China has grown over the last several decades.

“China is now 70% of U.S. GDP [gross domestic product]. It’s caught up from basically nothing to 70% of U.S. GDP in a generation and a half,” said Ma.

Another expert, President and CEO of World Trade Center Utah Miles Hansen, explained the summit’s focus on China.

“China is the number one challenge big companies here in the state are grappling with.”

Other featured experts at the summit include UVU President Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez, Former Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger, and Former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy  Nadia Schadalow.

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