Cai Guanshen

Jonathan Choi Koon‑shum GBM GBS JP (born July 1957) is an entrepreneur from Zhongshan, Guangdong. He serves as a Standing Committee Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He is Chairman of the Xinhua Group in Hong Kong, Chairman of Xinhua International Financial Group (Toronto‑listed), Chairman of Xinhua Wealth Financial Group (Hong Kong‑listed), and Chairman of VinaCapital Group in Vietnam. He has served three terms as President of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

Education

• St. Paul’s Co‑educational College (Class of 1974)
• Studied in Kyoto, Japan (1974–1975)
• Honorary Doctor of Humanities, Michigan State University
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Alberta
• Honorary Doctor of Business Administration, De Montfort University
• Honorary Doctor, Vietnam National University, Hanoi
• Honorary Doctor of Social Sciences, Lingnan University, Hong Kong

Xinhua Group

Founded in 1957, Xinhua Group’s businesses span seafood, property development, finance, high technology, media and culture, infrastructure, and education and training. Its network covers Mainland China, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, Japan, Canada, the United States, and Australia.

Public and Advisory Roles

• Standing Committee Member, National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
• Representative for Hong Kong, APEC Business Advisory Council
• Co‑Chair, SME Development Working Group, B20 (2016)
• Executive Vice‑President and Standing Council Member, China Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs Federation
• Standing Council Member, China Overseas Friendship Association
• Standing Committee Member, All‑China Federation of Industry and Commerce
• Council Member, Hong Kong Trade Development Council
• Chairman, Hong Kong SME Committee
• Founding President, Hong Kong–Vietnam Chamber of Commerce
• Founding President, Hong Kong–Korea Business Association
• Chairman, Hong Kong–Israel Center for Private Sector Technology Cooperation
• Founding Patron and Senior Advisor, Hong Kong Academy of Sciences
• Chairman, Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance
• Co‑Chair, Belt and Road Business Council
• Chairman, Fisheries and Agriculture Advisory Committee

In 2012, he was appointed Vice‑Chairman of the Council of the Contemporary World Studies Centre, a national think tank.

He serves on the governing or advisory boards of Fudan University, Nanjing University, United College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Contributions

Over the past 30 years, Jonathan Choi and Xinhua Group have supported science, education, and culture through endowments at over ten universities in Hong Kong and Mainland China. He founded the Academia Sinica Honorary Fellows Foundation and the Xinhua Youth Science and Technology Awards, and funded non‑profit tertiary institutions such as Guangdong Xinhua College of Education and Xinhua International Business School at Liaoning University. He sponsored the APEC Education Summit in Beijing in early 2004 and endowed the Xinhua Center for Quality Education at Michigan State University and the China‑U.S. Center for Advanced Education at Beijing Normal University. He established the Sanyi International School pilot program in Beijing, recognized as the top international kindergarten by Mainland China’s service network.

In technology, he founded the China‑India Software Association in November 2003 with support from China’s Ministry of Science and Technology and India’s Ministry of Information Technology, serving as its first Chairman. In January 2005, he established the Hong Kong–Israel Center for Private Sector Technology Cooperation.

In culture, Xinhua Group has funded the Jonathan Choi Art Museum at Nanjing University, the Art Distance Learning Center at Shanghai University, the Jonathan Choi Humanities Hall at Fudan University, the Jonathan Choi Lecture Hall at Northeastern University, and the Jonathan Choi Museum at Jinan University, among others.

He has funded educational exchanges for students from Vietnam, Cambodia, and other developing countries, and established Jonathan Choi Cultural Centers in France, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the United Kingdom.

Honours

Hong Kong Awards

• Gold Bauhinia Star (2014)
• Grand Bauhinia Medal (2021)

Foreign Awards

• Friendship Medal of Vietnam (2015)
• Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (Japan, announced 3 November 2022)

Other

• Honorary Citizen of Zhongshan City
• Honorary Citizen of Guangzhou City
• Honorary Citizen of Shenyang City
• World Outstanding Chinese Award (2018)
• Justice of the Peace (2004)
• Honorary Ambassador for Korean Outward Investment Promotion (2015)

Public Remarks

• In May 2018, he said in an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal: “In the future, we will not just be Hong Kong people, but Bay Area people, so we should think from an integrated perspective, not just Hong Kong’s interests.” This remark drew both support and criticism, with some accusing him of eroding Hong Kong identity.
• In 2022, he told HK01: “In business you must be practical; don’t always think about politics.”