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Kerry Brown is Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King's College, London. From 2012 to 2015 he was Professor of Chinese Politics and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Australia. Prior to this he worked at Chatham House from 2006 to 2012, as Senior Fellow and then Head of the Asia Programme. From 1998 to 2005 he worked at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing, and then as Head of the Indonesia, Philippine and East Timor Section. He lived in the Inner Mongolia region of China from 1994 to 1996. He has a Master of Arts from Cambridge University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Mandarin Chinese (Distinction) from Thames Valley University, London, and a Ph D in Chinese politics and language from Leeds University.

Professor Brown directed the Europe China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN) giving policy advice to the European External Action Service between 2011 and 2014. He is the author of a dozen on modern Chinese politics, history and language, the most recent of which are: China, CEO (2016), The New Emperors: Power and the Princelings in China (2014), What's Wrong with Diplomacy: The Case of the UK and China (2015) and the Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography (in Four Volumes- 2014-2015).

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Andrew Polk is the Co-founder and Head of Economic Research at Trivium China, a Beijing-based strategic advisory firm.

Before founding Trivium, Polk was the China Director at Medley Global Advisors, where he advised asset managers and hedge funds on developments in China's economy and financial markets.

Previously, Polk was the Resident China Economist at The Conference Board's China Center, where he conducted economic analysis on the Chinese economy for corporate clients.

Polk is the co-author of The Long, Soft Fall in Chinese Growth and maintains a deep network of professional contacts in the official, academic, and business communities in China – built over a decade of living in China and working on China issues.

Other research positions he has held include stints at the Institute of International Finance and the U.S. Treasury; he holds an MA in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS.

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Dr Zhang Jian is an Associate Professor at Peking University's School of Government. He joined Peking University's faculty in 2007, returning to the university where he completed his undergraduate studies. Zhang Jian received his PhD in political science from Columbia University in the City of New York. His research interests include ethnic minority issues in China, identity politics, political participation and state/nation building in the developing world. He teaches Chinese politics, American politics and ethnic studies at Peking University