May 25, 2006-Today Jean-Pierre Lehmann, professor of International political economy at IMD, and founding director of The Evian Group, delivered a speech at the China Europe International Business School's (CEIBS) main campus in Shanghai on "The Rise of China and the Decline of the Multilateral Trade Order."

Prof. Lehmann went through the origins of the multilateral trading system starting with the age of discovery and the rise of mercantilism to the results of World War II resulting in the establishment of the rules-based multilateral trading system based on the core principle of non-discrimination.  He later went on to further discuss China's dramatic increase in trade since 1994, its manufacturing exports, as well as China's accession into the WTO, and the profound transformation in the global trade "paradigm" along with the exponential developments in market and technologies.

An expert of the socio-economic and business dynamics of East Asia, the impact of globalization on developing countries and the government-business interface, especially in respect to the global trade and investment policy process, Prof. Lehmann launched the Evian Group in 1994. The Evian Group consists of high ranking officials, business executives, independent experts and opinion leaders from Europe, Asia, and Americas.  The Evian Group's focus is on the international economic order in the global era, specifically the reciprocal impact and influence of international business and the WTO agenda.

In November of this year, the Evian Group will hold a meeting in Shanghai in collaboration with CEIBS. The first Evian Group Meeting in Beijing was held last year in June also in collaboration with CEIBS.