Jessica Gordon is a Commercial Officer with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Gordon leads a team of commercial specialists to assist U.S. companies in the travel and tourism, media and entertainment, heavy machinery, agribusiness, mining, and environmental technology sectors to enter and expand into the China market. In addition, she currently serves as the Budget and Management Officer for the Foreign Commercial Office (FCS) Office in Beijing and four FCS constituent offices at the U.S. Consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Shenyang.

Before her assignment in China, Gordon served as the Office Director for the U.S. Commercial Service Dallas-Fort Worth Office, overseeing a region of more than 50 counties. She led a team of industry-focused international trade specialists in counseling U.S. companies across multiple industries on the export process and strategies for pursuing global sales opportunities. With over 18 years of global trade experience, Gordon has extensive expertise in international business development, market research and analysis, and export business counseling.

The U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, the lead U.S. government agency dedicated to assisting U.S. companies with global market expansion, operates through a network of trade professionals in over 100 U.S. cities and 80 international markets, providing export counseling, business matchmaking services, market intelligence, commercial diplomacy, and trade advocacy.

A native of Biloxi, Mississippi, Gordon graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Spanish and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) with a focus in International Business. She also holds an MBA from the Else School of Management at Millsaps College.

Charles G. Wall is the senior Regional Export Control Officer for the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), working out of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. In this role, Mr. Wall conducts end-use checks and engages with industry and government officials on export control issues throughout China. Prior to this role, Mr. Wall was a Senior Policy Advisor for BIS’s Export Administration, focused on coordinating export control policy and educating international audiences on dual-use counter-diversion strategies and practices. Mr. Wall started working on export control issues for BIS in 2004 as an attorney at the Department of Commerce, where he provided legal advice on regulatory and enforcement matters. Mr. Wall also spent several years as an Export Control Officer in Hong Kong, where he conducted end-use checks for BIS throughout Asia and worked as a business and government liaison on matters related to U.S. export controls.

Mr. Wall holds a B.A. from the University of Washington in Seattle, an M.A. from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Al Cortes is a U.S. Foreign Service Officer currently serving at U.S. Embassy Beijing as the Internal Economic Unit Chief. He oversees the Mission's reporting on China's domestic economy, labor, demographics, industrial policy and rural affairs. His prior overseas assignments include London, Beijing (2017-2020), Baghdad, Brasilia, and Beijing (2007-2009), as well as two assignments in Washington, D.C. focused on China's economy and foreign policy. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 2007, Al was a Senior Program Officer at Asia Society in New York City and worked for several years in China in the private sector.