Patrick Powers has 30 years of experience in international commerce, government relations and trade policy, achieved in a career that has spanned Asia but focused primarily on China. He has lived and worked in China for more than 20 years, in addition to assignments in Singapore, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

He is Head of Government Affairs for Rockwell Automation Greater China. Mr. Powers began his career with Bechtel, Inc., and held successive management positions at Island Creek of China Coal Ltd (Occidental Petroleum), SSM Coal BV, SHV Holdings, Tait Asia Ltd. (Vietnam), Mundoro Mining, Cargill, and Applus+.

Mr. Powers held the position of Vice President for China Operations at the US-China Business Council, the primary organization dealing with Sino-American commercial matters from 1999 to 2006. In that role, he was responsible for business advocacy and advisory services on behalf of 250 American MNC’s operating in the PRC. Mr. Powers has extensive experience in government relations and communications in China and Asia as well as a background in business development and operations in natural resources, large scale retailing, consumer goods warehousing and distribution.

He has spoken frequently on China-related topics at international conferences and appeared on numerous occasions in media, including CCTV, CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg, as well as contributing articles to The China Business Review.

He has a BA from San Diego State University and has pursued advanced language and professional development courses at UC Berkeley, National Taiwan Normal University, and Singapore Institute of Management. Mr. Powers is a fluent Mandarin speaker.

Mr. Powers is also a Vice-Chairmen on AmCham China's Board of Governors.

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.