Our Team

Meet our Leadership Team

Quentin Kilian

Quentin Kilian OAM

CEO

With a distinguished career in international trade, policy advocacy and strategic leadership, Quentin has spearheaded transformative initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region, driving economic growth and fostering diplomatic engagement.

His notable tenure as Director of International Trade & Asian Relations for the NT Government saw him advance trade and diplomatic ties across Asia and the Middle East, facilitating ministerial engagements and high-level negotiations that resulted in significant economic partnerships.

As CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AustCham HK), Quentin played a pivotal role in strengthening trade links between Australian businesses and the Greater China market, enabling strategic alliances and investment opportunities. 

More recently, Quentin served as CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), where his contributions to the real estate industry earned him the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for outstanding service. 

Vincent Wang

Vincent Wang

Co-Founder and Board Member

Vincent is a seasoned entrepreneur and strategic thinker whose deep expertise in China has been instrumental in shaping the AustChina Institute’s mission and research pillars. Holding degrees in Economics (ANU) and Master of Finance (UNSW), he brings a strong academic foundation to his work in international trade and economic policy.

Having owned and operated multiple businesses in Australia, Vincent has explored diverse avenues to strengthen the Australia-China trade relationship. His extensive knowledge of Chinese history, economy and business practices positions him as a key resource in fostering informed discussions on bilateral trade and policy.

As a member of the AustChina Institute’s board, Vincent plays a critical role in guiding strategic initiatives. His industry insights and leadership will be instrumental in advancing the Institute’s vision and impact. 

Delan Jayasuriya

Delan Jayasuriya

Co-Founder and Board Member

Delan is a Co-Founder of the AustChina Institute. While he doesn’t come from a traditional international relations background, his outsider’s perspective has enabled him to challenge entrenched views and question operating norms across the think tank landscape.

Driven by deep concern over the scarcity of impartial research on China and the prevalence of preconceptions in existing analysis, Delan and Vincent co-founded the AustChina Institute in 2024 to address this critical gap. His vision is to build a platform that delivers unbiased research to objectively inform Australia’s foreign and strategic policy decisions.

With over 15 years of experience in Finance and IT, Delan has held key roles at Telstra, developing expertise in managing complex projects and driving innovation. Holding degrees in Engineering and Science from the University of Melbourne, he combines a strong academic foundation with entrepreneurial skills that have delivered impactful enterprise solutions across the telecommunications and utilities sectors – and now, in shaping Australia’s foreign policy discourse.


Rythmi Jayasuriya

Rythmi Jayasuriya

Financial Accountant & Treasurer

With a strong background in Financial and Treasury Accounting, Rythmi has built a successful career in corporate finance, holding key roles such as Treasury Accountant at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Financial Controller at MAP Capital Advisors. Over the past two decades, she has navigated complex financial landscapes with precision, contributing to financial governance, investment management and corporate accounting.

As treasurer of the AustChina Institute, Rythmi plays a vital role in ensuring the organisation’s financial sustainability and operational efficiency. Her strategic financial leadership supports the Institute’s mission, helping to drive impactful research and informed policy discussions.

Richard Kimber

Board Member

With over 24 years of experience in Asia, Richard is a trusted legal advisor specialising in market entry, regulatory compliance and strategic business operations. As a Consulting Principal at Keypoint Law, he guides clients through the complexities of operating in China and the broader Asian markets.

A member of the Hong Kong Law Society and admitted to practice in New South Wales and South Australia, Richard has deep expertise in compliance and regulatory affairs, particularly in insurance, banking, data privacy and foreign investment. His insights has helped businesses navigate highly regulated industries with confidence.

Richard has advised leading companies across diverse sectors, including agribusiness, FMCG, healthcare, sports and entertainment, medical technology and tertiary education. Now based in Adelaide, Richard travels on a regular basis to the China region for business.

Meet our Research Team

Senior Research Fellow

Dr Lauren Johnston

Senior Research Fellow

Dr Lauren Johnston is an international economist specialising in China, Africa and geoeconomics. She is widely published in academic journals, including Population Economics, The World Economy and The Journal of Contemporary China. Her views are regularly sought by media and industry and she been cited in The New York Times, Bloomberg, BBC, Aljazeera and South China Morning Post.

Lauren’s research is shaped by international experience. She completed a PhD in International Economics at Peking University, holds an MSc in Development Economics from the University of London (SOAS) and a BA/BCom from the University of Melbourne. Lauren has held academic roles at University of Melbourne, Beijing Foreign Studies Universities, the Mercator Institute of China Studies in Berlin and South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg.

Earlier Lauren served as an ODI Fellow and economist in the Ministry of Finance of Sierra Leone and of Guyana. She was a Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum and has been a consultant for the World Bank on multiple occasions, as well as for UNICEF, UNAIDS and others in Beijing.  

Dr Rashad Seedeen

Dr Rashad Seedeen

Senior Research Fellow

Dr. Rashad Seedeen is an international relations scholar whose research examines the consequences of a post-U.S. world order, particularly in the areas of security, diplomacy and economic governance. His work began with a focus on global leadership in times of crisis and has since evolved to explore the rise of China, multipolarity and democratic theory.

Rashad is currently an Adjunct Research Fellow in the Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy at La Trobe University. He completed his PhD in International Relations at La Trobe in 2020, analysing global crises and U.S. hegemonic decline. He also holds a Master of International Relations from Monash University (2010), where he focused on global security.

In 2023, Routledge published Rashad’s book The United States’ Residual Hegemony: A complex-Gramscian Examination, which explored U.S. decline in the areas of global security, diplomacy and economic crisis management. More recently, he contributed a chapter to the VCE Politics textbook on weapons of mass destruction and the evolving nuclear arms race. In 2025, Rashad presented research on democratic social innovations in Indigenous communities at Oxford University through the European Centre for Populism Studies.
 

Dr Liwen Guo

Senior Research Fellow

Dr Liwen Guo is an accomplished economist specialising in health, labor, gender and environmental economics. She earned her PhD in Economics from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where she contributed to research in applied economics and public policy.

Liwen also served as a Research Assistant at Western Sydney University, a Fellow at the Global Labor Organization and a Lecturer/Tutor at UNSW and the Churchill Institute. Her research, published in leading journals such as Energy Economics and China Economic Review, has contributed valuable insights to the field, and she has presented her work at prestigious conferences, earning accolades like the Best Paper Award at the wISE Conference.

Beyond her research, Liwen is dedicated to mentoring, teaching and fostering collaborative projects across global institutions. A former Research Associate at UNSW, she has also been affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research and Harvard University. Fluent in both Mandarin and English, she brings extensive experience in analysing large-scale data to support evidence-based policymaking.

Dr Nic Badullovich

Consulting Fellow

Dr. Nic Badullovich is a social scientist specialising in climate change communication and engagement. He earned his PhD from the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, where his research focused on how framing influences productive engagement with climate change.

His academic work explores topics such as strategic communication, building public support and mobilising communities to take action on climate change. His research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Environmental Politics, Environmental Research Letters and Climatic Change.

He believes effective communication plays a critical role in building public and political will to address the challenges of climate change.

Hannah Zou

Hannah Zou

Research Analyst

Hannah Zou is a researcher in international relations, with a focus on cross-Strait dynamics and great power competition in the Indo-Pacific. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Sydney, where her research examines the strategic and political implications of the Taiwan issue in US-China relations.

Her academic interests include geopolitical risk, security in East Asia, and the role of discourse in shaping foreign policy. She has a background in both policy and remediation work, and previously completed a Master of International Relations with a thesis on US strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan.

She is committed to producing research that deepens public understanding of regional security challenges and informs responsible policy decision-making in a shifting global order. 

Evan Freidin

Evan Freidin

Research Affiliate

Evan Freidin is an international relations researcher and analyst specialising in China and its burgeoning technological sector. His work examines the Chinese digital industry and the broader strategic competition surrounding innovation.

With a Master's in International Relations from the University of Melbourne, his academic expertise includes industrial policy for innovation, technology governance and the global expansion of Chinese firms.
He has collaborated with organisations such as the Lowy Institute, the Australian Institute of International Affairs and Sixth Tone.

He is committed to producing robust, accessible research that helps the public better understand critical emerging trends. 

Email: info@aci.org.au

Location: 470 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, VIC 3004

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