William Dezheng Feng The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR
Transculturality in China’s Multimodal Global Communication
Bio William Dezheng Feng, PhD, is Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Research Centre for Professional Communication in English at the Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research focuses on the analysis of various media and communication practices from the perspectives of pragmatics, discourse analysis and multimodality. He has published over 80 papers in international and Chinese journals. He serves as Book Review Editor for Journal of English for Academic Purposes and editorial board member of several international journals. He published a monograph Multimodal Chinese Discourse: Understanding Communication and Society in Contemporary China with Routledge in 2023.
Amily Guenier Lancaster University, UK
Communicating Chinese Culture in a Multicultural Environment in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Insights from Confucius Institutes in the UK and Ireland
Bio Amily Guenier is the Director of Internationalisation at the School of Global Affairs and the Deputy Director of the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University. She holds a PhD from the Faculty of Health and Medicine, with research focusing on intercultural health communication—a field that bridges interpersonal and cross-cultural interactions, laying the groundwork for her expertise in business communication. Her research now spans business communication, health communication, and interpersonal communication.
Amily Guenier has lectured at the London School of Economics and University College Dublin and has led key initiatives at Lancaster University, such as the China Business Briefing and the Asia Career Fair. She has also worked as a consultant, delivering high-level intercultural business communication training to senior leaders at several international financial and consulting institutions, including Deloitte, EY, the Bank of England, Bank of China, Standard Chartered, HSBC, and ICBC. Additionally, she served as a supervisor for the British Government-funded Study China Programme for seven years, under the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Hui Pang The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China
The Art of Sand Mixing: Huawei’s Translation, Localization and Globalization Practices
Bio With extensive experience in translation and intercultural communication, Pang Hui previously served as a Translation and Localization Department Manager at Huawei Technologies, leading teams across India, Russia, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Shenzhen, and Nanjing to deliver high-quality translation and localization projects for clients such as France Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, Vodafone, and KDDI. Her team has been recognized with numerous awards such as the "2010 Best Support Initiative Award" and the "2011 Huawei President Award for Excellent Team."
Currently, she teaches in the Division of Language Education at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, where she integrates AI and VR into her EAP courses. She has been the Principal Investigator of a Teaching Innovation Grand (TIG) project integrating genre analysis and TED Talks to enhance students’ presentation skills, and also a Co-Investigator in a study exploring the effects of virtual reality on English presentation performance and anxiety levels.
Todd L. Sandel University of Macau, Macau SAR
KOL from China: Exploring the intercultural and international communication of China’s social media influencers globally
Bio Todd Sandel (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Macau. He is currently the Associate Editor of Communication Monographs and past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication (2017-2020). He was a Fulbright Scholar to Taiwan 2007-2008, and author of the book, Brides on Sale: Taiwanese Cross Border Marriages in a Globalizing Asia (2015), for which he received the “Outstanding Book Award” from the International & Intercultural Division of the National Communication Association (NCA, USA). Sandel is the current Chair of the Language & Social Interaction Division of the International Communication Association (ICA), and member of seven editorial boards, including the Journal of Communication, Discourse, Context & Media, and Chinese Journal of Communication. He has received 10 “Top Paper” awards for papers presented at NCA and ICA conferences.
His research interests include intercultural communication, Chinese social media, language and social interaction, identity formation, and the ethnography of communication. Work on digital media and intercultural communication has been published in such journals as Asian Studies Review, Chinese Journal of Communication, Convergence, Discourse, Context & Media, Gender, Place & Culture, Information, Communication & Society, Journal of Chinese Overseas, Journal of Gender Studies, Journal of Multilingualism, Journal of Pragmatics, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, Language & Communication, Information Development, and Social Media + Society. He is also conducting research with students and colleagues with data collected in greater China, and internationally including Belarus, Bhutan, Indonesia, UK, and Canada.
Lifei Wang Beijing Language and Culture University, China
Studies on the Evaluation and Impact of Digital Language Communicability of Chinese Enterprises
Bio Lifei Wang is professor of English, Beijing Language and Culture University, China. He also leads the National Base for Language Service Export, China and Academy of Language Services of Macao Millennium College. His academic interests include applied linguistics, language in international business, translation and language services studies, etc. He is Co-Chairman of the China Forum on Language Services 40, president of Business English Committee, China Shipper’s Association, and member of Asia-Pacific Association for LSP and Professional Communication.
Gabriele Zanoni Branding Records
Bridging Cultures: Crafting Global Narratives for Chinese Brands
Bio As Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Branding Records, Gabriele Zanoni leads global operations, connecting brands from East to West to craft purpose-driven branding solutions that put them at the forefront of their industries. His work has shaped consumer experiences for iconic brands like Tiffany, Coca-Cola, JPMorgan, leading Italian design firms, emerging fintech ventures, and more—blending global vision with local insight to drive impactful brand transformations.
Yongyan Zheng Fudan University, China
Intercultural education in the age of generative AI: Going beyond the language and cultural boundaries
Bio Yongyan Zheng is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Fudan University, China, where she teaches English academic writing and applied linguistics. Her research interests include second-language development, bilingual and multilingual education, and academic literacy practices. Her recent publications have appeared on Applied Linguistics Review, Current Issues in Language Planning, International Journal of Multilingualism, Language Awareness, Language Policy, Language Teaching, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Journal of Scholarly Publishing, System, and The Modern Language Journal. She serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Language, Culture and Curriculum, and also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of System. She is also one of the co-founders of Hamburg-Fudan-Macquarie “New Generation Literacies Network”.
Weihe Zhong Macau Millennium College, Macau SAR
Innovative Approaches for the Global Communication of Chinese Culture
Bio Prof. Weihe ZHONG is a distinguished leader in Chinese translation education and foreign language education and a pioneering founder of the BTI (Bachelor of Translation and Interpreting), MTI (Master of Translation and Interpreting), and DTI (Doctor of Translation and Interpreting) programs. He currently serves as the Rector and President of Macau Millennium College and Chancellor of Nanbo Education Group, a renowned private educational group that operates three universities and serves a total of 80,000 students.
Before assuming his current roles, Prof. Zhong was Co-President of Kingold Group, a prominent multinational corporation in South China. Prior to that, he had a 25-year career at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), where he advanced from junior lecturer to president, serving as the university's president from 2010 to 2017.
Prof. Zhong has also contributed extensively to various national and provincial advisory boards and committees, playing a key role in the advancement of foreign language education, interpreter and translator training, and MTI education. He has held several prestigious positions, including Vice Chair of the Foreign Language and Literature Teaching Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Education, Chair of the English Teaching Subcommittee, Executive Vice President and Director of the Interpretation Committee of the Translators Association of China, Vice Chair of the National Steering Committee for Translation and Interpreting Education, and Member of the Expert Committee for Discipline Development and Program Design under the Ministry of Education, among others.
An active scholar, Prof. Zhong has authored over 100 books and research papers, maintaining his commitment to academic excellence. He continues to publish papers on topics related to interpreting and translation studies, foreign language education, and language services studies. As a Ph.D. supervisor at City University of Macau, he also regularly delivers lectures as a Distinguished Chair Professor.
Throughout his career, Prof. Zhong has received numerous awards at both national and provincial levels for his outstanding contributions as an academic, researcher, educator, textbook editor, academic project leader, and university president.
He holds a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Nanjing Normal University, a master's degree in Interpreting and Translation Studies from the University of Westminster, and a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from Shanghai International Studies University. In recognition of his work in interpreting and translation studies, higher education, and international exchanges, he was conferred an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Warwick and Doctor of Letters degrees by the University of Central Lancashire (2010), the University of Westminster (2012), and the University of Coventry (2015).
