As Chair of AmCham China Policy Committee, Les Ross is a longstanding leader of the American business and legal communities in China and in frequent contact with government officials and other stakeholders.

Mr. Ross concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions and regulatory matters and has experience in a broad range of industries. He has represented both foreign and local companies and has particular experience advising foreign companies on competition law and regulatory compliance in China.

Mr. Ross represents foreign companies in their strategic expansion in China through direct investments and mergers and acquisitions in industries ranging alphabetically from agriculture to water services. He also has extensive experience representing foreign banks and corporations, including Chinese entities, in their strategic expansion in the United States, particularly focusing on M&A and regulatory clearances and compliance. He has also represented clients in trade, dispute resolution and regulatory matters in China.

Albert Xie is Vice President, Public Policy and Government Relations at General Motors, China, with over 30-year working experience in the academia in China and foreign companies, and good understanding of the Chinese and Western cultures.

Albert holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Beijing Aeronautical Institute, and a Master’s degree in business administration from the China Program of City University in Seattle, Washington.

Before joining the corporate world, Albert had an 11-year career in the academia in China, teaching aviation engines and aircraft maintenance at the Civil Aviation University of China. Prior to General Motors, Albert worked for General Electric (GE) in China for 17 years, serving major leadership responsibilities covering sales and marketing, and government affairs, and most recently served as General Manager, China Government Affairs, GE Aviation.

Albert joined General Motors (GM) China in February, 2014, as Vice President for Public Policy and Government Relations based in Beijing, responsible for building and maintaining GM's strong relationship with key government agencies, interpreting China's political environment to support management decisions, promoting GM's corporate image, and fostering strong relationships with GM's partners to enhance its government relations strategies.

Helen Ye is the Vice President of Global China Practice at Ogilvy & Mather. She is responsible for the China Outbound Practice, supporting brand building, high-level government exchange, and training programs for outbound Chinese companies. Before joining Ogilvy, Helen served as Vice President at AmCham China, where she was in charge of government affairs, and was responsible for the Chamber’s government affairs-related activities and advocacy efforts. She now holds the position of Vice Chairman on AmCham China’s Board of Governors.

Yuan Haiying founded Yuan Associates in February 2004, and since then he and the firm have become major players in China’s growing government affairs industry. Mr. Yuan has thirty years’ experience in the Chinese Government, including senior diplomatic postings in Washington D.C., as China’s Agriculture Attaché, and in Rome, as the Alternate Representative to the UNFAO. He has been involved in negotiations on numerous bilateral and multilateral agreements in the areas of trade, investment, agriculture, forestry, fishery and environmental protection. For his efforts, Mr. Yuan received an Outstanding Contribution Certificate from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Outstanding Contribution Awards from the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In China, Mr. Yuan was the Director of the Ministry of Forestry’s Department of International Cooperation, where he coordinated the Ministry’s relations and joint projects with foreign governments and international organizations.After retiring from public service, Mr. Yuan worked as Senior Vice President at Edelman Public Relations for three years and as Vice President at APCO Worldwide for three years. Mr. Yuan chaired the Government Affairs Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce and QBPC of the Chinese Government Cooperation Committee. Additionally, he was a Council Member of CIPRA and the Beijing Foreign Investment Association. Mr. Yuan graduated from Peking University with a degree in English and International Politics. He speaks Mandarin and fluent English.

Jane Zhang is the founder and president of DaoHe Consulting, a leading public policy, government affairs and issue and crisis management advisory firm based in Beijing. Prior to founding DaoHe, Jane served as Managing Director at APCO Worldwide, heading up the firm’s Beijing operation, and as the leader of Government Affairs and Communications practice at Burson-Marsteller China. In these roles, she provided counsel to major multinational companies in the area of policy and strategic communications, helping the firm’s global and Chinese clients build government relations and manage issues and crises in China. Earlier in her career, Jane held a leading position at Pfizer China in public affairs and policy, and worked with Johnson & Johnson’s government affairs and policy division in the United States.

Before joining the private sector, Jane served as a diplomat in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, providing international affairs expertise to top Chinese leaders and central government agencies as well as worked with senior U.S. and European government officials on major international issues.

The Honorable William Zarit advises U.S. multinationals working in the Chinese commercial market and helps Chinese companies navigate the U.S. investment environment. A Senior Counselor with The Cohen Group, he also serves as Chairman of the Board for the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

Until May 2014 Mr. Zarit was Minister for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, in charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s trade promotion and trade policy activities in its operations in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang. He retired with the diplomatic rank of Career Minister.

Prior to his posting to Beijing, Mr. Zarit was Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Operations, for the U.S. Commercial Service, overseeing Commercial Sections in U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide. The U.S. Commercial Service is the Federal Government’s front line trade agency, promoting both U.S. exports and foreign investment into the U.S., and protecting U.S. commercial interests overseas. Prior to that Mr. Zarit served as the U.S. Commercial Service’s Regional Director for East Asia/Pacific. He also served as Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the American Institute in Taiwan.

Before joining the U.S. Commercial Service Mr. Zarit was Economic and Commercial Program Officer for the New York-based National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Prior to that he served as Marketing Manager/China for Pacific Bell’s international operations, preceded by his work as Project Manager for the first IBM PC dealer in China, China Business Associates. Mr. Zarit also served as Mandarin Chinese Interpreter for the U.S. State Department Language Services.

He earned an M.B.A. with Honors from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. with Honors in Political Science from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.