Sebastian Eckardt 

Sebastian Eckardt is a Practice Manager for Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment in the East Asia and Pacific Region where he leads a team of economists working on Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, China, Mongolia and Vietnam. Prior to this position, he was the Lead Economist for China, Mongolia and Korea and earlier Vietnam. Since joining the World Bank in 2008, he has led complex lending operations and innovative analytical work across more than a dozen countries mostly in Europe and Asia, supporting clients in the areas of macroeconomic, fiscal, and structural reforms.

Before joining the Bank, Sebastian worked as an economist for the German Government. A German national, he holds an MSc from the University of Birmingham, UK and PhD in Public Finance from the University of Potsdam, Germany.

Xiliang Zhang

Dr. Zhang Xiliang is a professor of management science and engineering and director of the Institute of Energy, Environment, and Economy at Tsinghua University. Professor Zhang is a member of the National Experts Panel on Climate Change and the Chair of the Energy Systems Engineering Committee of the China Energy Research Society. He has been heading the expert group of national carbon market design since 2015. He was a lead author of the fourth and fifth IPCC Climate Change Assessment Report. He was granted the Leading Talent Award by Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the First Award for Humanity and Social Science Research by Ministry of Education in 2020. His current research interests include low-carbon energy economy transformation, climate change economics, and climate change policy and mechanism design. Professor Zhang holds a PhD in Systems Engineering from Tsinghua University.

Dr. Vera Eichenauer is an economist at the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at the ETH Zurich. She is interested in economic policy and questions of international economic governance. Her current research includes Europe’s handling of China’s economic presence and influence through economic policy measures. She received her PhD in Economics from the University of Heidelberg in 2016 and her master’s degree in International Relations from Sciences Po Paris.