China is truly a modern superpower, not just in military terms but also economically. It is also a huge market. Decisions taken in China have an effect on us all and one of the world’s foremost China watchers will be the guest speaker at this year’s Guernsey Literary Festival’s Business Breakfast in May.

Kerry Brown is Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College, London, and his latest book, The World According to Xi, is an up-to-date account of the impact and aims of arguably the world’s most powerful man, Xi Jinping.

Professor Brown, an associate Fellow on the Asia Pacific Programme at Chatham House, London and previously at the British Foreign Office, Chatham House, and at the University of Sydney, will address the audience at the Festival’s Business Breakfast, sponsored by Butterfield, on Friday 3 May at the OGH Hotel. He has written 15 books on modern China, and lectured on China in over 35 countries, and he knows that to understand modern China, you have to understand something about its leader.

Xi Jinping has been described as many things, the avuncular man of the people, the dictator, the innovator, the genius, the technocrat or as President Trump recently exclaimed the “president for life” but we know a lot less about him than we do about his American counterpart.

President and leader of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012/3, Xi has overseen the emergence of China as one of the greatest forces in the contemporary world, but also one whose power and influence have created confusion and consternation regionally and across the world. Who is Xi, what does he represent, and what is he likely to do with the power he is believed to hold.

Kerry Brown will guide his audience through the World According to Xi: his plans to make China the most powerful country on earth and to eradicate poverty for its citizens amongst many other bold moves.

Paul Hodgson, Managing Director of Butterfield Trust (Guernsey) Limited, says: “Butterfield is proud to sponsor guest speaker, Professor Kerry Brown, at the Guernsey Literary Festival, which is such an important event in Guernsey, promoting literacy and inspiring readers of all ages. As an established writer, lecturer and one of the UK’s leading China experts, Professor Brown is sure to be a fascinating addition to the Festival.'

The event will be introduced by Dominic Wheatley, Chief Executive, Guernsey Finance.

Continental breakfast and a copy of The World According to Xi are included in the ticket price of £25. Tickets are available from www.guernseyliteraryfestival.com. To book a table of 10, please email admin@guenseyliteraryfestival.com

The Guernsey Literary Festival runs from 1-6 May this year, and, as in previous years, it attracts a wide variety of authors, from novelists and poets, to presenters, business writers, travel writers and sports writers.