Thank you for inviting me to participate tonight. I'm happy to be here.
My name is Rob Wright. I was a career public servant for more than 38 years. I served in China as ambassador from 2005 to 2009. Before that, I served as ambassador to Japan from 2001 to 2005, and before that I was deputy minister of international trade for six years, from 1995 to 2001.
My time in China was mostly when Stephen Harper was prime minister. Hu Jintao was president and general secretary in China while I was there, and Wen Jiabao was the premier.
I retired in May 2009, eleven and a half years ago, and I'm fully retired. I have been since that time. I have done no work in China or Canada since my retirement, although I keep an interest in China, of course, and I am a senior fellow at the China Institute of the University of Alberta. I give public talks from time to time. If somebody asks me to talk about public service or about China, I'm always happy to do so, but other than that I haven't been engaged at all in any commercial activity.
That's the extent of my opening statement, Mr. Chairman.