Meet Deputy Head of EU Delegation to China – Mr. Harrington

Our Year 13 IB Diploma Economic class are excited to have the honour of meeting Mr. Timothy Harrington, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to China, for a face-to-face conversation to learn about the delegation’s mission, competencies, and challenges faced over the last few years.

During the presentation, Mr. Harrington gave an intriguing history of the European Union (EU), its formation, and the current challenges facing international and regional trade, foreign policies with neighbouring countries, and the Euro.

Year 13 students were very enthusiastic to have the opportunity to gain deeper insights directly from Mr. Harrington. Here are a few examples of the questions they asked:

• Katherine - Since the formation of the European Union in 1993, we have witnessed Brexit in January 2020. Are there member countries that may be better off not staying in the EU?
• Olivia - With rising interest rates, inflation problems and the Russia-Ukraine war, how are the EU member countries going to tackle their economic problems without their own monetary policies? In other words, to what extent is the monetary union still relevant and effective?
• Alexandre - Over the last five years, we have witnessed the value of the euro falling against the Chinese yuan. What advice would you give to Chinese exporters to stay competitive? What are the new sectors in the EU where Chinese companies still have a comparative advantage?

The event also attracted Year 12 Economic students and Year 10 Business Management students, who came as observers.

European Union (EU) is an organisation of European countries, formed in 1993 to oversee the economic and political integration. It was created by the Maastricht Treaty and ratified by all members of the European Community (EC), out of which the EU developed. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/china_en

Learning at the British School of Beijing Shunyi is about being ambitious. We hope to organise more high-level conversations with academics, diplomats, and scientists in different areas of specialisation and inspire our students to work towards an illustrious future career!

Update from Mr. Alex Goh

IBDP Economics and Business Management Teacher, IBDP CAS Coordinator