Professor Gordon Houlden is the Director of the China Institute, Professor of Political Science and Adjunct Professor of Business at the University of Alberta. Professor Houlden is a former Canadian Foreign Service Officer, with 22 years working on Chinese affairs for the Government of Canada, including 5 China postings. He has also served on the Board of Governors of the International Development Research Centre, a federal Crown Corporation. Under his leadership, the China Institute has focused on contemporary China studies, with an emphasis on Canada’s trade, investment and energy linkages with the People’s Republic of China, as well as China's foreign and trade policies.