Voices on China – Foster Ng, Head of Newly Launched YCW Paris
Since its founding in Beijing in 2010, Young China Watchers has become an ever larger and more diverse organization. The evolution continues with Young China Watchers’ newest chapter in Paris, founded in July 2026. In some ways, Paris is a natural fit for a China-focused organization like YCW, as France has always had significant business, diplomatic, and cultural ties to China. Indeed, though it launched less than two months ago, the young chapter already boasts 75 members.
YCW Paris Director Foster Ng has a background spanning Hong Kong and the UK and works in finance and education. He explains the rationale behind YCW’s newest chapter below.
Foster Ng is the Head of YCW’s newest chapter, which launched in Paris in July 2026. Image provided by Foster Ng.
Young China Watchers: Tell me about your history with YCW. What drew you to the organization, and how did you initially get involved?
Foster Ng: A Thai-British Sinophile friend introduced me to the network! I went to a few events in London and quickly noticed there wasn’t a Paris chapter, despite Paris being a flashpoint for the EU-China relationship. I got in touch with the board shortly after, and they were supportive of the initiative! Thanks to Clement Ngu, Elaine Chow and Will Heidlage for their support.
YCW: What’s your connection to China, and what about China particularly interests you?
FN: I was born in Hong Kong and am ethnically Han Chinese, but grew up in the UK and lived in Canada and Japan before moving to France. This multicultural upbringing left me constantly straddling two worlds, and for a long time I was looking for a way to properly reconcile both identities. YCW turned out to be exactly the right niche for that, giving me a holistic perspective on the subject.
YCW: Tell me about the China-watching community in Paris. What types of people do you see in the community, and are there any ways in which they differ from similar China-watching communities elsewhere?
FN: Paris has traditionally leaned more cultural in its approach to China-watching, which has shaped the professional diversity of our audience: academics, experts, people doing business and working with or in China, policy researchers, and Chinese nationals living in Paris. It’s very inclusive, intellectual and well-rounded, and has the largest variety of perspectives in the China-watching rooms I’ve come across.
YCW: Congratulations on setting up our newest chapter! Who are your members, what kinds of events have you done, and what are you hoping to do?
FN: Our members come from the Institut Montaigne, Sciences Po, ESCP, FRS, Inalco, IEA, UNESCO, a global law firm, Sinolytics, Université Panthéon-Assas, Global Shapers, Schwarzman Scholars, and a range of corporates – a huge range of public, private and academic institutions.
So far we’ve run an inaugural drinks event on the Seine, which was an incredible success. Going forward, we want to focus on building out a physical community: panels, networking drinks and dinners.
YCW: Tell me about the inaugural drinks. What did you do, and how did it go?
FN: We hosted drinks at Les Nautes on the Seine, right at the start of summer. It went better than we expected: over 100 signups on Luma, a beautiful sunset location, and 50+ people showed up! We’re now at 70+ members in the WhatsApp community.
YCW: How can people who wish to attend events or contribute to the Paris chapter get involved?
FN: Feel free to join the group chat here! Or reach out to our team directly: Foster Ng, Rowan Humphreys, Louie Lu, Sarah Isabey, Emilie Xu and Alexandre Yang.
A group shot featuring select members from the first Young China Watchers event in Paris, held in July 2026. Image provided by Foster Ng.