Alan Beebe is President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China based in Beijing. He has over twenty-five years of business experience in Asia, including seventeen years in mainland China.

As President, Alan oversees all advocacy, programs, partnerships and insights provided by the Chamber to support the business growth of nearly 900 foreign corporations operating in China, including most of the U.S. Fortune 500. He leads major advocacy initiatives related to trade tariffs, market access, cybersecurity, Made in China 2025, China’s NGO law and structural imbalances in U.S. – China trade and investment.

In 2018, he launched AmCham China’s Technology & Innovation Initiative, focused on the business and policy implications of disruptive digital technologies - such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and cloud computing – for U.S. companies in China.

Prior to joining AmCham China, Alan held various senior executive positions in China with EY, IBM, and management consulting firms AT Kearney and PRTM. He also led a Beijing based start-up for five years, the China Greentech Initiative, which merged in 2014 with the Paulson Institute, founded by Hank Paulson.

Alan has advised a wide range of corporations and global investors on investing and operating in China. His clients have included global private equity firms, high technology companies, energy related companies, and major state-owned and private Chinese enterprises.

He holds a Master’s degree from Yale University in International Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the U.S. He is a Board of Advisor of the Yale Club of Beijing and in that capacity promotes academic and cultural exchanges between the U.S. and China. He is a fluent speaker of mandarin Chinese, and reads and writes Chinese. Alan was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska.

Min Qin is Vice President for Public Affairs of Mars China. She joined Mars in 2018 and leads Mars’ efforts to build and grow strategic partnerships with key public stakeholders at both central and local levels, conduct policy advocacy in key categories Mars operates in, formulate public affairs strategies, and protect and promote Mars’ corporate reputation.

Prior to joining Mars, Min worked with Fonterra and McKinsey, building and leading their external affairs function in Greater China.

Min holds a Master of Philosophy from Cambridge University and a BA from Foreign Affairs College in China. She was nominated a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum in 2006.

Dr. Stevenson is the Director of the Mars Global Food Safety Center, in Beijing, China. In this role Abigail leads a global team focused on addressing the most significant food safety challenges facing global food supply chains through scientific research and new technologies, partnerships, collaborations and expert engagement. Abigail began her career at Mars in 1993 at the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition as a Research Scientist and went on to obtain her PhD in nutrition and urinary tract health from University College London in 2002.

Dr. Guangtao Zhang is the Head of Research at the Mars Global Food Safety Center in Beijing, China. In this role Dr. Zhang leads a team of scientists addressing the most significant food safety challenges facing global food supply chains through scientific research in the areas of mycotoxin risk management, microbial risk management, and food integrity. He has presented at numerous food safety conferences in areas of food safety, allergen management, applied and operational food safety at China International Food Safety and Quality Conference, World Mycotoxin Forum, and Food Safety Analysis.

Sophie Sun is currently Managing Director of Merck China Innovation Hub and Vice President of Merck Strategy and Transformation China. In this role, she leads the corporate efforts of driving strategic planning and initiatives of innovation and digitalization for Merck in China. Sophie is a member of the global leadership team of Group Strategy & Transformation, and a member of China Country Council for Merck. She is also the Chair of China Digital Council for Merck.

Sophie joined Merck in 2009, and took different roles with increased responsibilities in the field of communications, sales, marketing, strategy and business development. Sophie worked in both strategic markets including China and US, and global function of GBF Oncology. She was a member of the China Senior Leadership Team of Merck Biopharma China before moving to the US in 2013, where she worked on the global launch of Merck’s first immuno-oncology drug, as Director Global Commercial Oncology among other roles.

Before joining Merck, Sophie worked as a consultant for over eight years in China and France, and served a broad portfolio of clients from different industries, including healthcare, technology, chemicals and finance with international marketing and communications groups, including IPG and WPP.

Sophie holds a MBA degree from MIT Sloan School of Management and a MA degree from Renmin University of China. Sophie translated and published two books in the psychology management area. She is a board member for MIT Alumni Club of Shanghai, and a member of Bayhelix Group. She is an active speaker on innovation, digitalization and female leadership, and mentor and jury member for several startup incubators, accelerators and other organizations or programs.

William Watts, Sr. Director of the Walmart Food Safety Collaboration Center (WFSCC), is an experienced professional in government relations, international business, and business technology. Watts focuses on building partnerships with government, industry, academia, and research institutions around new and creative technology solutions to issues in fresh food supply chains. Past and current efforts include piloting blockchain technology for traceability and supplier management, supply chain continuous improvement, and an annual food safety technology challenge called the Walmart Food Safety Innovation Pipeline. Before joining Walmart, Mr. Watts served as an Economic Officer in the U.S. Department of State and was a business technology consultant with Accenture.

Watts studied at three different Chinese universities during his college years- Southwest University for Nationalities in Chengdu, East Normal China University in Shanghai, and Heilongjiang University in Harbin. Watts holds a degree in Economics with a minor in Asian Studies from the University of Arkansas where he graduated summa cum laude. Mr. Watts is conversant in Mandarin and has varying fluency in Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and Italian.

XU Jie is currently serving as Food Safety Director for Danone Greater China.
XU Jie joined Shanghai Danone Yogurt Co., Ltd in 1999 as Manufacturing Supervisor before he was promoted to Quality and Safety Manager in 2000. After five years, he was transferred in 2005 to Bright Dairy & Food. Co. Ltd, which was at that time Danone’s business partner and took the place of National Quality Assurance Manager until 2006, when he was transferred back to Danone Asia Pacific Management Co., Ltd and took the place of Dairy Quality and Food Safety Manager for the Mengniu Dairy & Danone Joint venture. From 2007 to 2008, he worked as Dairy Quality Manager and Industrial Project Manager. In July 2008 he joined Danone Dairy China and took the place of Quality & Food Safety Director and at the same time as Regulatory & Government Affairs Director.
Before his current role as Food Safety Director for Danone Greater China, he took the position of Quality and Product Management Director & R+D advisor in September 2013 for Mengniu-Danone Fresh Dairy Business, which is a strategic dairy Joint Venture of Group Danone in China.

Zhao Jun Wei is the CTO of IBM China Development Lab, Senior Technical Staff Member. In this role Jun Wei leads the development transformation to cloud native, with focuses on Hybrid Cloud, Data & AI, Internet of Things and Cognitive Enterprise Solutions. He has been building solutions for GCG clients in financial, telecommunications, manufacturing and other sectors on their journey to cloud and AI.