Gregory C. Allen is the director of the Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies and a senior fellow in the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, he was the director of strategy and policy at the Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, where he oversaw development and implementation of the DOD’s AI Strategy, drove policy and human capital reforms to accelerate the DOD’s adoption of AI, developed mechanisms for AI governance and ethics, and led frequent diplomatic engagements with governments and militaries in Europe and the Indo-Pacific regions, including China. Mr. Allen’s expertise and professional experience spans AI, robotics, semiconductors, space technology, and national security. Prior to working at the DOD, he was the head of market analysis and competitive strategy at Blue Origin, a space technology manufacturer and space launch services provider. Mr. Allen’s writing and commentary has appeared in in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Economist, Nature, CNN, Fox News, Foreign Policy, and WIRED. He holds a joint MPP/MBA degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School.

Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky is Chair at Parkside Global.  She advises multinational corporations on their market access, investment and acquisition strategies across the globe.  Long renowned in the US and around the world for her negotiating, policy, strategic, and legal skills in transactions with governments, state-owned enterprises and private parties, she joined WilmerHale after serving as the United States Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001, and acting and deputy USTR from 1993 to 1996. 

As the USTR and a member of the President’s Cabinet, Ambassador Barshefsky was responsible for the formulation of US trade policy and the negotiation of hundreds of complex trade and investment agreements that significantly opened markets, removed regulatory barriers, and cemented protections for US investment from Europe to Asia, Africa to Latin America, and the Middle East.  She also led the negotiation of global agreements to open the financial services and telecommunications sectors, remove global tariffs on information technology products and protect intellectual property rights. 

Ambassador Barshefsky is best known globally as the architect and negotiator of China’s WTO agreement, which opened China’s economy as a worldwide market.  This historic agreement has helped to reshape the global economic landscape.  Likewise, her agreement to open the Vietnamese market was the cornerstone of the normalization of relations between the US and Vietnam; and her pursuit of pro-growth trade policies in the Middle East – through the initial creation of special economic zones to integrate Israel with her neighbors, and a Free Trade Agreement with Jordan – has been recognized as a foundational element for subsequent free trade initiatives with the Muslim Middle East.  

A renowned figure among governments and policymakers around the world and in the legal profession, and long at center stage in the development of international trade policy, Ambassador Barshefsky has been honored by both Harvard and Yale law schools.  Her negotiations are the subject of several Harvard Business School case studies; and her negotiating skills and legal talent have been heavily profiled in a large number of books, magazines and newspapers.  She is a frequent lecturer and op-ed contributor in the US and abroad on trade and international economic issues of importance, and is the recipient of a number of honorary degrees and numerous other accolades for lifetime achievement, including Chambers Lifetime Achievement Award and the Inaugural Legal 500 Hall of Fame Award.  She has been formally recognized as one of the most influential lawyers in the United States, and is a member of a broad range of foreign policy-oriented and economic institutions devoted to public policy and international relations.  

Ambassador Barshefsky serves on the Boards of Directors of the American Express Company and the Estee Lauder Companies, and formerly served on the boards of Intel Corporation and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.  She is a Trustee of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  Ambassador Barshefsky is also a Senior Fellow at Yale’s Paul Tsai China Center.

Karan Bhatia leads the global public policy function at Google – a 450-person team based in more than 50 countries around the world. In this role, he serves as principal advisor to Google’s CEO, board and senior management on policy issues and leads the company’s work with policymakers and key political stakeholders in the US and around the world.

Before joining Google in 2018, Bhatia served as President of GE’s Government Affairs & Policyfunction. During his 10 years at GE, Karan helped drive the company’s significant expansioninto government-facing global markets. He supported more than $40 billion in government-related industrial orders globally, secured international regulatory approvals forcritical mergers and acquisitions, and led the company’s policy advocacy efforts on issues ranging from climate change to international trade.

Earlier in his career, Bhatia served in senior positions in the US Government, including at the Departments of Commerce and Transportation, shaping US international economic policy. His last role was as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, overseeing U.S. international trade policy with respect to Asia and Africa. Prior to his government service, he was a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, where he was a member of the firm’s international and corporate groups.

Bhatia has written and spoken widely on international economic policy, taught at Georgetown University Law Center, and testified on many occasions before Congress. He currently sits on the boards of the Urban Institute, the US Global Leadership Coalition, and the Partnership for Public Service.

Bhatia holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton, a master’s from the London School of Economics, and a law degree from Columbia University. He and his wife Sara have two grown sons.

As executive vice president, chief policy officer, and head of strategic advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Neil Bradley is responsible for the organization’s overall advocacy efforts. In addition to managing policy development for the Chamber, Bradley oversees its government affairs activities, political program, and relations with other business organizations.

At the Chamber, Bradley has led the national discussion on hundreds of high-profile policy issues, influencing legislation at the federal, state, and local levels. He frequently appears on broadcast and cable news networks to present the business community’s priorities.

Prior to joining the Chamber, Bradley spent nearly 20 years working in the House of Representatives, including 11 years working for the House Republican leadership. He served as deputy chief of staff for then-Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA) where he developed the legislative agenda for House Republicans, oversaw policy formulation in the leader’s office, and coordinated committee activity in the House. Bradley held the same position for Eric Cantor (VA) during his tenure as majority leader. Before that, he was policy director for House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (MO).

After leaving Capitol Hill, Bradley founded Chartwell Policy Solutions, LLC, a research, analysis, and advisory firm focused on public policy issues.

While working on Capitol Hill, Bradley was regularly named to Roll Call’s list of 50 top congressional staffers. The Hill recognized Bradley on its list of top lobbyists, and the Washingtonian magazine listed him as one of the Most Influential People in Washington.

Bradley serves on numerous boards, including the advisory board for the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University; the board of the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution; and the board for the Center for International Private Enterprise, where he is president and permanent secretary.

Bradley, a graduate of Georgetown University, resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife, Kiki, and their son, Peter. He is a native of Sapulpa, Oklahoma.

The Honorable Tarun Chhabra serves as a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Technology and National Security on the National Security Council staff. From 2015-2017 he served as NSC Director for Strategic Planning and Director for Human Rights and National Security issues in the Obama Administration. He was a senior fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology in Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and Director of the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution. Chhabra worked at the Pentagon as a speechwriter for two Secretaries of Defense and has been a visiting fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House and a graduate fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. Chhabra also worked in the executive office of the United Nations Secretary-General.
Tarun Chhabra earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School as a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow for New Americans, an M. Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University (Merton College), where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a B.A. from Stanford University. Chhabra also studied at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations as a Fulbright Scholar. Chhabra was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and is a first-generation American.

Gerard DiPippo is the Senior Geo-Economics Analyst for Bloomberg Economics. He was previously a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. He joined CSIS after nearly 11 years in the U.S. intelligence community (IC). From 2018 to 2021, DiPippo was a deputy national intelligence officer for economic issues at the National Intelligence Council, where he led the IC's economic analysis of East Asia. He also was a senior economic analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, focused on East Asia, South Asia, and global economic issues. DiPippo holds a bachelor's degree in economics and philosophy from Dartmouth College.

Alan F. Estevez serves as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security. As Under Secretary, Mr. Estevez leads the Bureau of Industry and Security, which advances U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives by ensuring an effective export control and treaty compliance system and promoting U.S. strategic technology leadership.

Mr. Estevez arrived at BIS following an accomplished 36-year career at the Department of Defense, including in two Senate-confirmed leadership positions. His last position at the Department of Defense was Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology & Logistics), where he was responsible for developing, implementing, and managing acquisition, contracting, installation, and logistics programs and policies that increased combat effectiveness, as well as the department’s efficiency and buying power.

Prior to his last government appointment, Mr. Estevez held several key positions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness. In this position, he was responsible for providing world-class military logistics support to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. He was the first career Federal official to hold this position. Mr. Estevez also served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Material Readiness. Mr. Estevez has been honored numerous times, including three Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medals, the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, two Presidential Rank Awards, and the Service to America Medal (SAMMIE) for National Security.

Most recently, Mr. Estevez served as a national security strategy and logistics executive with Deloitte Consulting, where he worked with clients to innovate and transform their acquisition, contracting, logistics, and supply chain operations.

Mr. Estevez holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Rutgers University and a Master of Science in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University.

David Fagan co-chairs the firm’s top ranked practices on cross-border investment and national security matters, including reviews conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and data privacy and cybersecurity.

David has been recognized by Chambers USA and Chambers Global for his leading expertise on bet-the-company CFIUS matters and has received multiple accolades for his work in this area, including twice being named Dealmaker of the Year by The American Lawyer. Clients laud him for “[seeing] far more matters than many other lawyers,” his “incredible insight,” and “know[ing] how to structure deals to facilitate regulatory reviews” (Chambers USA).

David’s practice covers representations of both foreign and domestic companies before CFIUS and related national security regulators. The representations encompass matters in which the principal assets are in the United States, as well as those in which there is a smaller U.S. nexus but where solving for the CFIUS issues—including through proactive mitigation and carve-outs—is a critical path for the transaction. David has handled transactions for clients across every sector subject to CFIUS review, including some of the most sensitive and complex matters that have set the template for CFIUS compliance and security agreements in their respective industries. He is also routinely called upon to rescue transactions that have run into challenges in CFIUS, and to negotiate solutions with the U.S. government that protect national security interests, while preserving shareholder and U.S. business interests.

Reflecting his work on U.S.-China investment issues and his experience on complex U.S. national security matters intersecting with China, David is regularly engaged by the world’s leading multi-national companies across a range of industries to advise on strategic legal projects, including supply chain matters, related to their positioning in the emerging competition between the U.S. and China, as well as on emerging legal issues such as outbound investment restrictions and regulations governing information and communications technologies and services (ICTS). David also has testified before a congressional commission regarding U.S. national security, trade, and investment matters with China.

Michèle Flournoy is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, and a Co-Founder, former Chief Executive Officer, and now Chair of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).

Michèle served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012. She was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. She led the development of the Department of Defense’s 2012 Strategic Guidance and represented the Department in dozens of foreign engagements, in the media and before Congress.

Prior to confirmation, Michèle co-led President Obama’s transition team at the Defense Department.

In January 2007, Michèle co-founded CNAS, a bipartisan think tank dedicated to developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security policies. She served as CNAS’ President until 2009, and returned as CEO in 2014. In 2017, she co-founded WestExec Advisors, a strategic advisory firm.

Previously, she was senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies for several years and, prior to that, a distinguished research professor at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University (NDU).

In the mid-1990s, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy.

Michèle is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including: the American Red Cross Exceptional Service Award in 2016; the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1998, 2011, and 2012; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 2000 and 2012; the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 1996; and CARE’s Global Peace, Development and Security Award in 2019. She has edited several books and authored dozens of reports and articles on a broad range of defense and national security issues. Michèle appears frequently in national and international media, including CNN’s State of the Union, ABC’s This Week, NBC’s Meet the Press, BBC News, NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered and PBS’ News Hour, and is frequently quoted in top tier newspapers.

Michèle serves on the boards of CNAS, Booz Allen Hamilton, Amida Technology Solutions, The Mission Continues, and CARE. She serves on the advisory boards of The Leadership Council for Women in National Security, Sesame Workshop, Intel, and PIMCO. She is a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affair, a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group, and a former member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the CIA Director’s External Advisory Board, and the Defense Policy Board.

Michèle earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies from Harvard University and a master’s degree in international relations from Balliol College, Oxford University, where she was a Newton-Tatum scholar.

Charles Freeman, senior vice president for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has been helping companies navigate complex markets in the Asia-Pacific for 25 years. His career included senior stints in government, business, law, and academia, giving him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities in the world’s most dynamic region.

During his government career, Freeman was assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs, serving as principal U.S. trade negotiator with China. He also was legislative counsel in the U.S. Senate, where he concentrated on East Asian economic and trade issues.

After leaving government, Freeman consulted on Chinese and other Asia-focused business and policy matters for some of the world’s leading companies during market entry, expansion, and crises phases alike. He also served as PepsiCo’s vice president for global public policy and government affairs for Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

In addition, Freeman was chair of China studies at Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Earlier, he was based in Hong Kong with The Asia Foundation and the International Herald Tribune and worked as a securities lawyer and venture capitalist investing in emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and China.

He is on the board of directors of Harding Loevner Funds, an internationally focused mutual fund group and is also a senior adviser to CSIS.

Freeman earned his doctor of law degree from Boston University’s School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in Asian studies and economics from Tufts University. He did postgraduate work at Fudan University in Shanghai and studied Mandarin Chinese at the Taipei Language Institute.

Noah Friedman is leading corporate strategy projects with a focus on an approach to business in China that accounts for complex market and geopolitical dynamics. In addition, he is the head of the sales & marketing training function and co-sponsors the regional Market Development & Innovation Council. He is a trusted advisor to global ExCom and the Board regarding Medtronic’s approach in China’s dynamic market.

Noah joined Medtronic in 2006 in Minneapolis and held marketing roles in Neuromodulation and Diabetes OUs in the USA. He moved to Shanghai in 2010 as China business leader for peripheral vascular therapies and, since 2012 has led the regional strategy team. Over the years, he has played a founding role to establish Medtronic’s approach to China’s broad market and private hospital segments, guide a series of investments in Chengdu for innovation and physician training, and helped establish and advise Medtronic’s venture investment fund for China.

Noah is passionate about bridging China and the world. Noah hails from New York where he started studying Chinese at a young age, and he has lived in Shanghai, Beijing, and Nanjing for a total of sixteen years. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in economics and East Asian Studies from Yale University.

Jonathan Fritz has been the Chief of Staff to Jose Fernandez, the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy & the Environment, since August, 2, 2021. Previously, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs responsible for China, Mongolia, and Taiwan. Before that, he was the Director for Bilateral & Regional Affairs in the State Department’s Office of International Communications & Information Policy. Prior to that he was posted at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where he served alternately as Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs, Chief of Staff, acting Deputy Chief of Mission, and chargé d’ affaires. From 2010-2014 Jonathan headed the economic sections of our embassies in Canberra and Kabul. Before that, he worked on trade, investment, and IPR issues in our posts in Beijing, Mexico City, and Hong Kong. Jonathan also served in Washington as a special assistant to Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, as a trade negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and as a desk officer in the State Department’s Office of Chinese & Mongolian Affairs. Jonathan began his Foreign Service career with consular tours in China and Ecuador. Jonathan spent two years at the U.S. Air Force Academy and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. and an M.A. in East Asian studies.

Patrick (Pat) Gelsinger is chief executive officer of Intel Corporation and serves on its board of directors. He has more than four decades of technology leadership and experience driving innovation, with 30 of those years serving in Intel engineering and executive roles.

Before rejoining Intel in February 2021, Gelsinger was CEO of VMware. In that role, he transformed VMware into a recognized global leader in cloud infrastructure, enterprise mobility and cybersecurity – almost tripling the company’s annual revenues. Gelsinger was also ranked the top CEO in America in 2019 in Glassdoor’s annual employee survey. Prior to joining VMware in 2012, Gelsinger was president and chief operating officer of EMC’s Information Infrastructure Products business, overseeing engineering and operations for information storage, data computing, backup and recovery, RSA security and enterprise solutions.

Gelsinger began his career in 1979 at Intel, becoming its first chief technology officer and serving as senior vice president and the general manager of the Digital Enterprise Group. He managed the creation of key industry technologies like USB and Wi-Fi. He was the architect of the original 80486 processor, led 14 microprocessor programs and played key roles in the Intel® Core™ and Intel® Xeon® processor families, leading to Intel becoming the world’s preeminent microprocessor supplier.

Gelsinger earned degrees in electrical engineering: an associate degree from Lincoln Technical Institute, a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University and a master’s degree from Stanford University. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in February 2023. Gelsinger holds eight patents in the areas of VLSI design, computer architecture and communications, is an IEEE Fellow, and serves as a member of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. He also sits on the Business Council, Business Roundtable, CEO Council, CEO Forum, Global Semi Alliance, Tech Council CEO and U.S. Chamber China Center Advisory Board.

Jimmy Goodrich is a leading expert on technology, geopolitics, and national security with a focus on China and East Asia. He is a senior advisor for technology analysis to the RAND Corporation and a nonresident fellow at the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, where he works in various capacities on research regarding China, technology, and national competitiveness. Jimmy was previously the vice president for global policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), where he led the industry’s supply chain, international trade, export control, global market research, and China efforts. His work at SIA included research on Chinese industrial policy and chip industry economics, efforts to successfully secure $52 billion in funding for the CHIPS and Science Act, and navigating complex multinational export control and other national security issues. Jimmy was also the director for China policy at the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) in Washington D.C., and prior to that spent seven years in the tech sector in China. Jimmy holds a bachelor’s degree in comparative politics and East Asian studies from Ohio University. Jimmy is professionally fluent in Mandarin and is a board member of the American Mandarin Society, which seeks to promote mandarin language study in the United States.

Stephen Hadley completed four years as the assistant to the president for National Security Affairs on January 20, 2009. In that capacity he was the principal White House foreign policy advisor to then President George W. Bush, directed the National Security Council staff, and ran the interagency national security policy development and execution process.

From January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2005, Steve was the assistant to the president and Deputy National Security adviser, serving under then National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. In addition to covering the full range of national security issues, Steve had special responsibilities in several specific areas including U.S. relations with Russia, the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, developing a strategic relationship with India and ballistic missile defense.

From 1993 to 2001, Steve was both partner in the Washington D.C. law firm of Shea and Gardner (now part of Goodwin Proctor) and a principal in The Scowcroft Group (a strategic consulting firm headed by former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft). In his law practice, Steve was administrative partner of the firm. He represented a range of corporate clients in transactional matters and in certain of the international aspects of their business – including export controls, foreign investment in U.S. national security companies, and the national security responsibilities of U.S. information technology companies. In his consulting practice, Steve represented U.S. corporate clients seeking to invest and do business overseas.

From 1989 to 1993, Steve served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security policy under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Steve represented the Defense Department on arms control matters, including negotiations with the Soviet Union and then Russia, on matters involving NATO and Western Europe, on ballistic missile defense, and on export and technology control matters.

Prior to this position, Steve alternated between government service and law practice with Shea & Gardner. He was counsel to the Tower Commission in 1987, as it investigated U.S. arms sales to Iran, and served on the National Security Council under President Ford from 1974 to 1977.

During his professional career, Steve has served on a number of corporate and advisory boards, most recently as co-chair of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel. Other positions include service on the National Security Advisory Panel to the Director of Central Intelligence, the Department of Defense Policy Board, the Board of Directors of the U.S. Institute of Peace, as a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and as a trustee of ANSER (Analytical Services, Inc.), a public service research corporation.

Steve graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 1969. In 1972, he received his J.D. degree from Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, where was Note and Comment Editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Peter Harrell is a former adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He is a leading expert on U.S. economic statecraft, including sanctions, export controls, trade policy, and other geoeconomic tools.

Harrell has published widely on topics including the use of economic coercion in the U.S.-China relationship, U.S. sanctions on Russia, Iran, and other countries, and the legal foundations of U.S. sanctions. He has testified in front of multiple congressional committees and his articles and op-eds have appeared in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Politico, Lawfare, and other leading outlets.

From 2012-2014, Mr. Harrell served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions in the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. From 2009 to 2012 he served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, where he was instrumental in developing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s economic statecraft agenda.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Harrell served on President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C. He is the author of one book, Rwanda’s Gamble: Gacaca and a New Model of Transitional Justice. Mr. Harrell is a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University and holds a J.D. from the Yale Law School.

Prior to joining Beacon, Ms. Harris was Director of Policy for Worldwide Aerospace & Defense at GlobalFoundries, generating novel business and partnership opportunities across U.S. and international industry and governments. Ms. Harris joined GlobalFoundries from the Semiconductor Industry Association, where she served as Director for Global Technology and Security Policy. Her focus in these roles was building productive relationships between industry and government on national security and foreign policy issues, such as supply chain security and export controls.

Ms. Harris transitioned to industry in May 2021 after years of service in a range of national security, foreign policy and intelligence roles as both a federal civilian and Marine Corps officer.

Ms. Harris’s last role in government was in the Bureau of Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce. As the Senior National Security Policy Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary she provided strategic guidance on all national security matters. She coordinated the execution of multiple complex regulatory publications, including accompanying strategic communications and foreign partner engagement.

Prior to the Department of Commerce, Ms. Harris served at the White House on the National Security Council Staff as the Director of Strategic Trade and Nonproliferation from March 2018 – June 2020. In this capacity she advised the President and National Security Advisor and led US Government policy development and implementation of critical technology and technology transfer policy. This included coordinating complex export control activities and policies across the US Government, such as entity listings, strategic regulatory changes, and foreign dialogue.

Ms. Harris entered federal civilian service in 2016 with the Defense Technology Security Administration in the Department of Defense. As DTSA’s Senior Policy Advisor for China, she developed and represented the DoD’s policy positions on pivotal technology security issues within the Department and across the Interagency.

Prior to civilian government service, Ms. Harris served as a signals intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps, leading and training Marines in collection and analysis, including while deployed. Following her operational tour she was hand-selected to the Office of the Commandant of the Marine Corps where she served as the Commandant’s Protocol Officer.

Ms. Harris has dual B.A. degrees in Political Science and Music from the University of Rochester in New York, and an M.A. degree in International Security Studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C.

Michael Hart 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 nineteen years in mainland China.

As President, Michael 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. The chamber's advocacy includes the impressive American Business in China White Paper and Business Climate Survey each published annually as well as numerous interactions with both the US and Chinese governments on behalf of our members.

Prior to joining AmCham China, Michael spent most of his career in commercial real estate in Taipei, Shanghai and Tianjin including almost 20 years for a NYSE listed property services firm. He started in the research division briefing real estate owners, occupiers and investors on transactions and macro trends, he then opened, built, and led a branch office for the company in one of China's largest Tier 1.5 cities for over a decade. Following this, Michael opened a private consulting and investment firm that among other projects invested in quick service restaurants.

In addition to this work, Michael was a long-term AmCham member and served on the Tianjin chapter's Executive Committee for nearly 15 years including several terms as the local Chairman.

Michael holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a focus on finance and banking from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the U.S. He is a fluent speaker of mandarin Chinese. Michael was born and raised near Kansas City, Missouri.

Adam Hickey is a Partner at Mayer Brown. He has extensive experience in cybersecurity, sanctions, export controls, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), CFIUS, and other national security authorities.

Mr. Hickey previously oversaw the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES), including the FARA Registration Unit, and the Foreign Investment Review Section. As DAAG, Mr. Hickey supervised investigations and prosecutions of foreign, state-sponsored computer intrusions and attacks, economic espionage, export control and sanctions violations, and malign foreign influence. Mr. Hickey also supervised NSD’s foreign investment and telecom security reviews and represents DOJ on interagency policy committees concerning cybersecurity. Currently, Mr. Hickey focused much of his time on DOJ’s China Initiative (dedicated to better combatting national security threats from China) and improving enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

From 2013 to 2015, he was the Acting Deputy Chief for Cyber in CES, where he established NSD’s cyber program, which is dedicated to combatting malicious cyber activity affecting the private sector and critical infrastructure. Previously, Mr. Hickey was a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, where he served as Deputy Chief of Appeals and prosecuted national security cases involving terrorism and international drug and arms trafficking. Prior to joining DOJ in 2007, Mr. Hickey clerked for the Hon. Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the Hon. Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Mr. Hickey also practiced civil litigation and white collar defense in Manhattan. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

Mikko Huotari is the Executive Director of MERICS. His research focuses on China’s foreign policy, China-Europe relations and global (economic) governance and competition. He has published on China’s rise as a financial power, trade and investment relations with Europe as well as on geopolitical shifts related to China's emergence as a global security actor.

Huotari studied in Freiburg, Nanjing and Shanghai. He holds a PhD from Freiburg University and was a guest scholar at the University of California in San Diego in 2017/2018. In 2019, Huotari was appointed as one of 15 German representatives to the German-Chinese Dialogue Forum.

Christopher K. Johnson is the President and CEO of China Strategies Group. As one of the top China experts in the field, his insights frequently are sought out by the world’s leading corporate, financial, and other business interests to help develop strategies for clients pursuing opportunities in China and regionally. Chris is based in New York but spends nearly half his time in China and the rest of Asia.

An accomplished Asian affairs specialist, Chris served for nearly two decades in the United States Government’s intelligence and foreign affairs communities. In addition to his work advising multinational corporations on their business and commercial strategies in China and greater East Asia, his insights on the Chinese leadership and on Beijing’s economic, commercial, foreign and security policies are regularly sought by senior Administration, Congressional, military, and foreign government officials. Chris also serves as a Senior Fellow on Chinese Politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis and is a senior fellow in the office of the president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the preeminent foreign and security policy think tank in Washington, DC.

Chris worked as a senior China analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he chronicled China’s dynamic political and economic transformation, the development of its robust military modernization program, and Beijing’s resurgence as a regional and global power. He served abroad in field sites throughout East Asia and speaks Mandarin Chinese. He was an intelligence liaison to two Secretaries of State and their deputies on worldwide security issues and in 2011 was awarded the U.S. Department of State’s Superior Honor Award for outstanding support to the Secretary and her senior staff. He also served with distinction in providing daily intelligence support to President George W. Bush.

After departing the CIA in 2012, Chris was appointed the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS and founded China Strategies Group. Over eight years at CSIS, he mirrored his government success by establishing himself as a highly acclaimed public thought leader on China. Chris graduated summa cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in history and political science from the University of California, San Diego and received his master’s degree in Security Policy Studies from the George Washington University.

Sarah is Vice President, International Government Affairs for Intel, where she works with the Growth Acceleration Team to identify Intel’s global policy interdependencies, drive strategy, and enable seamless execution across the organization. Sarah wholeheartedly believes that implementing appropriate policy measures can bring unparalleled opportunities to create world-changing technology that improves the life of every person on the planet.

Before joining Intel, Sarah led the Global Women’s Health and ESG policy at Organon, a role that she sees as a continuation of the purpose-driven mission she undertook as Merck’s Associate Vice President, Public Policy for China, Japan, and the Emerging Markets. She has held key strategic roles supporting teams in their policy-shaping initiatives and defining and leading global above-country engagement in support of the entire ex-US market set.

Sarah is a former Deputy Under Secretary of the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. During her career, she led a team of more than 2,200 trade and investment professionals based in over 100 US cities and 75 countries with an annual budget of $485 million, promoting U.S. exports and foreign investment into the U.S. and protecting U.S. commercial interests abroad. She also served as a U.S. diplomat leading teams in Beijing, Hong Kong, Hanoi, and Bangkok.

Sarah is an independent board member of NTIC and CIPE. And a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on China.

Hon. Mark Kennedy (US Congress, 2001-07 MN), Director of the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, also serves as an appointed Civic Leader supporting the Secretary of the Air Force and as President Emeritus of the University of Colorado. Kennedy is dedicated to strengthening America’s alliances, and the technology, trade, infrastructure, and energy foundations of its economic and global leadership. Mark applies experiences as a first-generation college graduate, corporate executive, presidentially appointed member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, founder of the Economic Club of Minnesota and author of an Ivy League published book. He has engaged wide cross-sections of society in over 45 countries, including refugee camps, war zones, 50 military bases and three aircraft carriers at sea.

Jeffrey I. Kessler is a partner in WilmerHale’s International Trade Practice, where he handles some of the most high-profile work in the international trade arena. Mr. Kessler originally joined the firm in 2011 and rejoined in 2021 after serving for two years as Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance at the US Department of Commerce, the chief trade enforcement official for the US Executive Branch.

As Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, Mr. Kessler headed the 360-person office that enforces the US antidumping and countervailing duty laws, monitoring foreign compliance with trade agreements, supporting the negotiation and implementation of international trade agreements to open foreign markets, administering the Foreign-Trade Zones program, and evaluating Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion requests. Mr. Kessler was the decisionmaker in hundreds of trade remedies cases, renegotiated a series of politically charged trade pacts with foreign countries and producers, and spearheaded the largest overhaul of Commerce’s trade enforcement regulations in decades. His tenure as Assistant Secretary represents a high-point in Commerce’s trade enforcement activity, with the most ever trade remedy investigations in a single fiscal year (104), as well as several self-initiations of circumvention proceedings, and the first-ever countervailing of foreign currency undervaluation.

At WilmerHale, Mr. Kessler represents US manufacturers in high-profile trade remedy cases, including those related to fertilizer products, softwood lumber, and chemicals and plastics products. Mr. Kessler advises on both the legal and the political aspects of such cases. He regularly appears before the US Department of Commerce, the US International Trade Commission, and the US Court of International Trade. Mr. Kessler has also been involved in successfully litigating several precedent-setting cases before WTO panels and the Appellate Body, including US – Large Civil Aircraft (2nd complaint) (Article 21.5 - US), EC and certain member States – Large Civil Aircraft (Article 21.5 – US), US – Tax Incentives, Argentina – Import Measures, and Brazil – Certain Measures Concerning Taxation and Charges.

A particular area of emphasis for Mr. Kessler’s practice is China. Mr. Kessler has assisted leading US companies and industry associations—especially those in innovative, IP-intensive industries—to understand and navigate Chinese trade and investment barriers. Mr. Kessler has advised companies on issues such as China's sector-wide subsidy programs, IP policy and enforcement, cyber sovereignty and related policies, technology transfer requirements, national security–related technical standards, and restrictions on the supply of foreign services.

Emily Kilcrease is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at CNAS. Her research focuses on the U.S.-China economic relationship; alignment of national security objectives and economic policy; and geoeconomic statecraft.

Kilcrease previously served as a deputy assistant U.S. trade representative (USTR), overseeing the development, negotiation, and coordination of U.S. foreign investment policy. She served as the senior career staffer leading USTR’s work on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and coordinated USTR’s policy engagement on related national security and economic tools, including export controls and supply chain risk management. She played a lead role in drafting CFIUS reform regulations, with a focus on transactions involving critical technology and sensitive personal data. She was involved in the negotiation and enforcement of the Phase One Agreement with China, trilateral work with the EU and Japan to counter unfair Chinese trade practices, and the initial negotiations for a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom.

Previously, Kilcrease served on the National Security Council (NSC) as a director for international trade, investment, and development. She focused on reforming U.S. development finance authorities and launched the interagency effort that resulted in the BUILD Act, as well as coordinating policy on women’s economic empowerment. Prior to the NSC, she served at the Department of Commerce overseeing the department’s CFIUS work. She began her government service at the Department of Interior working on trade and environment policy.

Kilcrease’s commentary has been cited by major national press outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Reuters, NPR, and ABC News. She has testified on coercive economic statecraft before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Kilcrease received her MA in international relations, with a concentration in international development and economics, from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She received her BA in government from Georgetown University.

Jason Matheny is president and chief executive officer of RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that helps improve policy and decision-making through research and analysis.

Prior to becoming RAND's president and CEO in July 2022, he led White House policy on technology and national security at the National Security Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Previously, he was founding director of the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University and director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), where he was responsible for developing advanced technologies for the U.S. intelligence community. Before IARPA, he worked for Oxford University, the World Bank, the Applied Physics Laboratory, the Center for Biosecurity, and Princeton University.

Matheny has served on many nonpartisan boards and committees, including the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, to which he was appointed by Congress in 2018. He is a recipient of the Intelligence Community's Award for Individual Achievement in Science and Technology, the National Intelligence Superior Service Medal, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. He was also named one of Foreign Policy's “Top 50 Global Thinkers.”

Matheny holds a Ph.D. in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University, an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University, an M.B.A. from Duke University, and a B.A. in art history from the University of Chicago.

James McGregor is chairman of APCO Worldwide’s greater China region and author of two highly regarded books: No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers: The Challenges of Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism, and One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China. He also wrote the noted APCO monograph China’s Drive for Indigenous Innovation—A Web of Industrial Policies.

Prior to joining APCO, Mr. McGregor was the founder and CEO of a China-focused consulting and research firm for hedge funds, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and a chief executive of Dow Jones & Company in China. Mr. McGregor is also a former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, and has long served as a leader of AmCham’s U.S., government relations. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the International Council of Asia Society and a board member of the U.S.-China Education Trust.

Mr. McGregor is a professional speaker, regular television and radio commentator and a contributor of essays and opinion articles for a variety of publications. He has lived in China for nearly three decades and is fluent in Chinese. He splits his time between Shanghai and Beijing.

Mr. Morell is one of the country’s most renowned national security professionals, most recently serving as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and twice as its Acting Director.

In his over thirty years at the Agency, he played a central role in the United States’ fight against terrorism, its initiatives to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and its efforts to respond to trends that are altering the international landscape—including the Arab Spring, the rise of China, and the cyber threat.

As Deputy Director from May 2010 until August 2013, he oversaw the Agency’s analytic and collection operations, represented the Agency at the White House and on Capitol Hill, and maintained the CIA’s relationships with intelligence services and foreign leaders. He was one of the leaders in the search for Osama bin Laden and participated in the deliberations that led to the raid that killed bin Laden in May 2011.

Mr. Morell served as Acting Director longer than anyone in the history of the CIA, most recently for four months before the appointment of current CIA Director John Brennan in March 2013. He served as a member of the National Security Council’s Deputies Committee.

Mr. Morell started his career at the CIA in 1980. He worked on East Asia for 14 years, holding a number of jobs in analysis and management. In 1999, Mr. Morell became the Director of the Office of Asian Pacific and Latin American Analysis. He also served as President George W. Bush’s intelligence briefer and as the Executive Assistant to CIA Director George J. Tenet.

In July 2006, Mr. Morell was named the Executive Director of the CIA, overseeing the administration of the Agency. In this role, he worked to strengthen the CIA’s leadership development program and established a cost-savings program for the Agency’s numerous support elements. In 2008, Mr. Morell became the Director for Intelligence at the Agency, leading the CIA’s large analytic effort. In this assignment, he strengthened the quality of CIA analysis and enhanced professional development opportunities for analysts. He served in this role until he was appointed Deputy Director in May 2010.

Mr. Morell received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Akron and a M.A. in Economics from Georgetown University.

Throughout his career, Mr. Morell has received a number of awards. These include the Presidential Rank Award, the CIA’s Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Department of Defense Service Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the National Intelligence Reform Medal, the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion, and four CIA Director’s Awards.

Since 2008, he has been a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, where he covers foreign affairs and politics. His first book, “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014), based on eight years of living in Beijing, won the National Book Award. From 2008 to 2013, he was The New Yorker’s China correspondent. His subjects included the reconstruction of a train crash that exposed corruption; a group of Chinese tourists on their first trip to Europe; and a barber who set out to beat the house in Macau. For four years, he also wrote the Letter from China blog for newyorker.com.

Osnos has written from elsewhere in East Asia; his article, “The Fallout,” on the effects of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, won a 2012 Overseas Press Club Award. Previously, he worked as Beijing bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune, where he was part of a team that won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Before his assignment to China, he worked in the Middle East, reporting mostly from Iraq. He has also contributed to “This American Life” and been a correspondent for “Frontline/World.” He is the recipient of the Osborn Elliott Prize and a Livingston Award for Young Journalists. His work is anthologized in “The Best American Writing on Nature and Science 2010,” “The Best Spiritual Writing 2012” and “Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land.” In 2013, Osnos delivered the Joe Alex Morris Jr. Memorial Lecture at the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. He is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Based in Washington since 2013, Osnos writes about money in politics, and the formation of American foreign policy. His article, “Chemical Valley,” examined the role of lobbying and campaign contributions behind a chemical leak in West Virginia. His profile subjects include Vice President Joe Biden, legal scholar Lawrence Lessig and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Osnos is a frequent guest on television and radio, including “Charlie Rose”, “Fareed Zakaria GPS”, National Public Radio and “PBS NewsHour.”

Born in London, he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1998, with a concentration in government.

Andrew Polk is the co-founder and head of economic research at Trivium China, a Beijing-based strategic advisory firm. Before founding Trivium, Polk was China director at Medley Global Advisors, where he advised asset managers and hedge funds on developments in China's economy and financial markets. Previously, Mr. Polk was the resident China economist at The Conference Board's China Center for Economics and Business, where he conducted economic analysis on the Chinese economy for corporate clients. Polk is the co-author of The Long, Soft Fall in Chinese Growth (The Conference Board, 2015) and maintains a deep network of professional contacts in the official, academic, and business communities in China—built over a decade of living in China and working on China issues. Other research positions he has held include stints at the Institute of International Finance and the U.S. Department of Treasury. He holds an M.A. in economics and international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Nancy Qian is the James J. O'Connor Professor of Economics at Kellogg and a professor of the Department of Economics by courtesy appointment. She co-directs the Global Poverty Research lab, and founded China Econ Lab, an independent international organization that promotes rigorous research about the Chinese Economy. For her Bachelor's degree, she studied economics, Japanese, mathematics, government and minored in Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT and was a Harvard Academy post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center of Government. She was an Associate Professor at the Dept. of Economics at Yale University prior to Kellogg. Nancy has native fluency in Chinese (Mandarin, Shanghainese) and English, working ability of Japanese, Spanish and rudimentary Russian.

Professor Qian's research investigates the drivers of long-run economic, culture and political evolution. She has studied the causes and consequences of formal institutions, such as elections, and cultural norms, and gender preference and racial identity. She uses theory-driven frameworks and empirical evidence to resolve historical puzzles, such as the causes of the Great Chinese and Soviet Famines, or the presence of local democracy within autocratic regimes. Her work spans many current and historical contexts such as China, the United States, former Eastern Bloc countries and sub-Saharan Africa.

She is passionate about using research to address real-world problems and using higher education to encourage the personal and intellectual developments of students. At Northwestern, she has taught classes for MBAs (fulltime, evening and weekend, MSMS), EMBAs, Executive Educaion and Ph.D. students. Prior to Northwestern, she also taught undergraduates.

Her work has been published in top academic journals and featured in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. She is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, as well the recipient of many prestigious awards and grants. She serves in several editorial positions and has consulted for agencies such as The World Bank, the Global Development Network and the China Development Bank.

She regularly contributes opinion columns for outlets such as Bloomberg or Project Syndicate, appears on news outlets such NPR and CNN, and is working on her first book, which is planned for publication in 2023 with the University of Chicago Press.

Meg Rithmire is the F. Warren MacFarlan associate professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit. Professor Rithmire holds a PhD in Government from Harvard University, and her primary expertise is in the comparative political economy of development with a focus on China and Asia. Her first book, Land Bargains and Chinese Capitalism (Cambridge University Press, 2015), examines the role of land politics, urban governments, and local property rights regimes in the Chinese economic reforms. A new book, forthcoming with Oxford University Press, investigates the relationship between capital and the state and globalization in Asia, comparing China, Malaysia, and Indonesia from the early 1980s to the present. The book, Precarious Ties: Business and the State in Authoritarian Asia, examines how governments attempt to discipline business and, second, how business adapts to different methods of state control. Her work also focuses on China's role in the world, including Chinese outward investment and lending practices and economic relations between China and other countries, especially the United States.

Daniel H. Rosen is the co-founder of Rhodium Group and leads the firm’s work on China. Mr. Rosen has worked professionally on China’s domestic economy and global commercial relations since 1992. He is widely recognized for his research on US-China relations and Asian commercial dynamics. He is affiliated with numerous think tanks focused on international economics and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University.

From 2000-2001, Mr. Rosen was Senior Adviser for International Economic Policy at the White House National Economic Council and National Security Council. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

A native of New York City, Daniel graduated with distinction from the graduate School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University (MSFS) and with honors in Asian Studies and Economics from the University of Texas, Austin (BA).

Dr. Michelle Rozo is Vice President of Technical Capabilities at In-Q-Tel, a non-profit strategic investor that accelerates the development and delivery of cutting-edge technologies to enhance the national security of the United States. She was previously Director of Technology and National Security at the U.S. National Security Council, where she advised the President and National Security Advisor on biotechnology and national security policy, and the Principal Director for Biotechnology within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering at the Department of Defense.

Dr. Rozo also served as a Senior National Security Advisor for Cooperative Threat Reduction at the Department of State, and as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellow in the office of Senator Bob Casey.

Dr. Rozo is a molecular biologist by training and studied severe infectious diseases as a staff scientist with the Naval Medical Research Center in Fort Detrick, Maryland. She holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology and Biophysics Program at the Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Biology from Northwestern University.

Christopher M. Schroeder is a Washington D.C. and New York City based entrepreneur and venture investor. He co-founded HealthCentral.com, one of the nation's largest social and content platforms in health and wellness, backed by Sequoia Capital, Polaris Ventures, The Carlyle Group, Allen & Company and IAC Corporation. The company was sold to the health media publisher, Remedy Health, in January 2012 where Schroeder remained a board advisor.

Previously he was CEO of washingtonpost.newsweek interactive and LegiSlate.com, the b2b interactive platform on US and state legislation and regulation that he sold in 2000. He currently is an active investor in and advisor to top US venture capital funds and over a dozen consumer-facing social/media startups. He has had a career in finance and served in President George HW Bush's White House and Department of State on the staffs of James A. Baker, III and Robert B. Zoellick.

Susan C. Schwab is a strategic advisor in Mayer Brown’s International Trade practice and offers cross-practice and cross-office counsel to the firm’s clients on a wide range of issues and policies.

Ambassador Schwab’s advisory role for Mayer Brown is in addition to both her professorship at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, where previously she served as Dean, and as President of the University System of Maryland Foundation. From 2005-2009 she served as US Trade Representative (USTR) and Deputy USTR in the George W. Bush administration. Ambassador Schwab also sits on several corporate and non-profit boards, and is a frequent speaker at associations, corporations, and think tanks. In 2022, she became board chair of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC).

During her tenure as USTR, Ambassador Schwab successfully opened markets for US products and services in every region of the world and across a variety of business sectors and industries. She concluded the United States’ Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Peru, Colombia and South Korea and launched the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks. Ambassador Schwab helped to achieve congressional approval of FTAs with Oman and Peru, as well as the bipartisan “May 10th, 2007” agreement on trade, labor and the environment. Additionally, she negotiated in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha Round with major economic powers including the European Union, China, India, Brazil and Indonesia; helped to lead US bilateral WTO accession negotiations with Russia; and engaged in those with Vietnam. Finally, she filed, pursued and resolved multiple cases in defense of US commercial interests with Canada, China, the EU and others.

Ambassador Schwab has more than three decades of international trade and policy experience. She began her career in the USTR’s office as a trade negotiator for agriculture issues. After two years, she headed to Tokyo, where she served as a Trade Policy Officer at the American Embassy. She later spent 8 years working for Sen. John Danforth (R-MO), first as Chief Economist and Legislative Assistant for International Trade and then as Legislative Director. In 1989 Ambassador Schwab became the Director General of the US & Foreign Commercial Service at the US Department of Commerce, where she oversaw 200 international and domestic field offices with 1300 employees and a budget totaling $115 million. Following that, she worked as a senior executive at a major US company negotiating deals to access the Chinese market.

Brad W. Setser is the Whitney Shepardson senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). His expertise includes global trade and capital flows, financial vulnerability analysis, and sovereign debt restructuring. He regularly blogs at Follow the Money.

Setser served as a senior advisor to the United States Trade Representative from 2021 to 2022, where he worked on the resolution of a number of trade disputes. He had previously served as the deputy assistant secretary for international economic analysis in the U.S. Treasury from 2011 to 2015, where he worked on Europe’s financial crisis, currency policy, financial sanctions, commodity shocks, and Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, and as a director for international economics on the staff of the National Economic Council and the National Security Council.

He is the author of Sovereign Wealth and Sovereign Power (CFR, 2008) and the coauthor, with Nouriel Roubini, of Bailouts and Bail-ins: Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Economies (Peterson Institute, 2004). His work has been published in Foreign Affairs, Finance and Development, Global Governance and Georgetown Journal of International Law, among others.

Setser was a senior fellow at CFR from 2016 to 2020, a fellow from 2007 to 2009, and an international affairs fellow in 2003. He also has been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund. He holds a BA from Harvard University, a masters from Sciences-Po Paris, and an MA and PhD in international relations from Oxford University.

Sean Stein is a senior advisor in Covington’s Public Policy Practice Group. Prior to joining Covington, Sean served as the U.S. Consul General in Shanghai. He has over twenty years of diplomatic experience in Asia and has served in leadership positions in China, Washington, and the region. His insights informed policy making at the highest levels in Washington and he assisted dozens of U.S., Chinese, and international firms to develop strategies, manage risk, and identify opportunities for growth in response to the changing U.S.-China relationship. Sean also serves as the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

Sean, a non-lawyer, is a key resource to businesses on issues related to political risk, public affairs, problem solving, and communications. He regularly assists companies facing acute or long-term issues to resolve them, often through discussions with U.S. and Chinese government officials. He is well placed to provide strategic advice to U.S. and international clients on issues relating to securing market access and protecting investments in China, assessing risk, navigating trade controls, sanctions, and supply chain restrictions, and resolving disputes and regulatory investigations.

Sean is available to brief clients on developments in within China and China’s relations with other countries and regions.
Prior to joining Covington, Sean served for nearly three decades as a US diplomat, including stints as Consul General in both Shanghai and Shenyang and in leadership positions at the former Consulate in Chengdu, the office of Chinese Affairs in Washington, DC, and various countries throughout the Asia Pacific region.

He also has a particularly long history of working with AmChams. In the early 2000s when the Sichuan authorities threatened to close the AmCham office in Chengdu, Sean helped negotiate an agreement that allowed it to continue to operate. Nearly a decade later, Sean supported the establishment of AmCham in NE China. His second term as Chair of AmCham Shanghai concludes at the end of this year. Now based in Beijing, Sean is looking forward to channeling his energy and experience to serve AmCham China and its members around the country.

Jing Ulrich is Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific at JPMorgan Chase. She provides strategic advice to the firm’s most senior global clients across all sectors and asset classes, while building relationships with executives at Asia’s leading enterprises. Ms. Ulrich works with all lines of business at JPMorgan Chase to foster greater cross-border collaboration and strengthen senior client relationships in Asia Pacific and the rest of the world.

Educated at Harvard and Stanford Universities, Ms. Ulrich is one of the most prominent advisors to the world’s largest asset-management companies, sovereign wealth funds, and multinational corporations. Her views influence the allocation of trillions of dollars of investments.

Ms. Ulrich has received numerous accolades for her work in the industry. She has been ranked four times as one of Fortune Magazine's 50 Most Powerful Global Businesswomen. Forbes named her one of Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen and twice named her among the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World. The South China Morning Post selected Ms. Ulrich as one of the top 25 most inspirational and influential women in Hong Kong. In recent years, publications including China Daily, China Entrepreneur magazine and FinanceAsia have consistently ranked Ms. Ulrich among the top business elite in Asia. She has also been dubbed as "the unofficial voice of China" and the "Oprah Winfrey of the investment world.”

Because of her in-depth knowledge of China’s linkages with the rest of the world, Ms. Ulrich has been an important figure shaping the international community’s approach to investing in Asia Pacific. In her previous position, she established J.P. Morgan’s Hands-on-China Series, which became a leading forum for views and research on China’s transformation. Ms. Ulrich also created the world’s foremost China investment summit, attended each year by thousands of global business and government leaders. In addition to her duties at JPMorgan, Ms. Ulrich also serves on the G20/B20 Trade and Investment Task Force as well as the Multinational Committee of the APEC China Business Advisory Council. She is also an independent director on the board of Italian luxury goods company Ermenegildo Zegna SpA.

Before joining J.P. Morgan, Ms. Ulrich was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, where she led the top-ranked team covering China. Global institutional investors regularly voted her the best China strategist in polls conducted by Institutional Investor, Asiamoney, and Euromoney. Before moving to Asia, Ms. Ulrich worked in Washington DC as one of the first fund managers to focus on the Greater China markets.

Jeremie O. Waterman is president of the China Center and vice president for Greater China at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  Waterman is responsible for developing and executing Chamber policy initiatives in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mongolia as well as steering the Chamber’s policy work in the Asia-Pacific region.

In carrying out the Chamber’s Greater China agenda, Waterman directs its trade and investment policy advocacy and initiatives in the areas of investment, innovation, intellectual property rights, financial services, agriculture, health care, energy and environment, and corporate governance and social responsibility.

Waterman has pioneered a number of Chamber business initiatives focused on China, such as the U.S.-China CEO Dialogue and the newly created China Center. He is frequently quoted in the media on a broad range of China issues relating to international business and trade policy and is a periodic guest on news programs.

Before joining the Chamber, Waterman worked for five years at the US-China Business Council as director for government affairs. He also served at the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the offices of Congressional Affairs and Africa.

Waterman received a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston and is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles. He and his wife have two children.

Rick Waters is the managing director of Eurasia Group's China practice. Drawing on his decades of experience in the US foreign service, Rick leads the firm's China expertise and client offerings. His research interests include China's global and regional diplomacy, US-China relations, and China's domestic political economy.

Rick joined Eurasia Group after a 27-year career as the US State Department's top China policy official, overseeing the creation of the Office of China Coordination, informally known as the China House, and concurrently serving as deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan. Rick also held multiple roles at the US embassy in Beijing—including during the period between the accidental US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 and the Hainan Island incident in 2001.

Fluent in Mandarin and Spanish, Rick also speaks Arabic and worked for more than a decade on Middle East issues, including as director for Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan at the National Security Council under George W. Bush and as political counselor in Jerusalem and Islamabad. A graduate of Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, Rick is based in Eurasia Group's Washington, DC, office. When not immersed in all things China, he enjoys hiking and sailing with his wife and unruly Labrador.

Clete advises clients, including investors, trade associations and multinational companies, on international economic law and policy matters. With over 16 years of U.S. government experience, he offers clients strategic guidance and legal representation on trade, investment, finance, economic development and export controls, among other issues.

Throughout his career, Clete has been at the forefront of policy developments impacting U.S.-China competition and he has helped clients navigate all aspects of this relationship.

Before joining Akin, Clete served in the White House as the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economics and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. This position was also part of the National Security Council. In this role, he was the lead U.S. negotiator at multilateral summits, serving as the President’s Sherpa at the G-7 and G-20 Summits and the lead negotiator at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.

Clete was also deeply involved in negotiations with major U.S. trading partners, such as China, the European Union (EU), Japan, Korea, Canada and Mexico. In addition, Clete helped the administration achieve key legislative victories, including the passage of development finance reform legislation and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reform legislation.

Prior to joining the White House, Clete worked at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for eight years. Among other positions, Clete served as Chief Counsel for Negotiations, Legislation and Administrative law, and Legal Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the WTO. He was heavily involved in both trade policy issues and WTO litigation.

Prior to joining USTR, Clete worked as Counsel on the House Budget Committee and in multiple positions, including Legislative Director, for then-Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI). In this role, he was successful in helping pass multiple pieces of trade and energy-related legislation into law.

In addition to being part of Akin’s lobbying & public policy practice, Clete works closely with the international trade team on issues related to the WTO, CFIUS and sanctions. He has participated in more than 30 WTO proceedings.

Based in China since 1985, Dr. Lola Woetzel has been instrumental in building McKinsey's China office. In addition to her work helping Chinese and other Asian businesses prepare for global growth, she is a director of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey's business and economics research arm. She also leads McKinsey's Cities Special Initiative and is responsible for convening McKinsey's work with city, regional, and national authorities in more than 40 geographies around the world.

Lola’s research spans global, Asia-Pacific, North America, and China-focused trends. She has led numerous research efforts, including on productivity; sustainable and inclusive growth; economic development and urbanization; real estate, affordable housing, and infrastructure; climate risk and the net-zero transition; and e-commerce and the economic impact of the Internet.

Lola’s public sector work is extensive. She has advised national governments in Asia on improving the environment for foreign investors, national energy policy, and economic development strategies. She also leads work with local government authorities on economic development and transformation. This includes working in real estate—specifically, on commercial revitalization and affordable housing—and advising on energy and infrastructure investment strategies, among other issues.

Lola works in the private sector as well, most often on issues related to corporate strategy, operations, and organization. She has served clients in industries such as energy, metals and mining, health care, telecommunications, and transportation.

Lola actively participates in a number of international forums. She lectures at the Guanghua School of Business and the China-Europe International Business School and is also an honorary lecturer at Jiaotong University's Antai Business School. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Published widely in both Chinese and international publications, she has written five books on China, including Capitalist China: Strategies for a Revolutionized Economy (Wiley & Sons, 2003), Operation China: From Strategy to Execution (Harvard Business Press, 2007), and One Hour China (Towson Press, 2013). She has also coauthored, with Richard Dobbs and James Manyika, No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends (Public Affairs, May 2015).

Prior to joining the firm, Joerg Wuttke served as the Chief Representative of BASF in China, based in Beijing. Since joining BASF in 1997, Mr. Wuttke has been responsible for helping guide the company’s investment strategies for China, negotiation of large projects and government relations.

Previously, Mr. Wuttke worked with ABB for 11 years; in fact his first professional encounter with China was in 1988 as the Finance and Administration Manager of ABB Beijing. In 1990, he returned to Germany as Sales Manager of ABB Power Plants Division, responsible for gas turbine sales to Africa and Russia. In 1993, he became Chief Representative ABB China in Shanghai and in 1994 moved to the President's Office of ABB China in Beijing, where he was responsible for the development and financing of large projects.

From 2001 to 2004 Mr. Wuttke was the Chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce in China. From 2007 to 2010, 2014 to 2017, and 2019 to 2023, he was the President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China

From 2011 to 2019, Mr. Wuttke was Chairman of the BIAC China Task Force of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), a Paris based body of major business associations that lobbies the OECD.

From 2013 to 2016, and again since 2019 Mr. Wuttke is Vice Chairman of the CPCIF International Cooperation Committee, a group representing Multinational Companies in China’s Chemical Association.

Since its establishment in 2013, Mr. Wuttke is member of the Advisory Board of Germany’s foremost Think Tank on China, Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), in Berlin.

Steve Yates is from St. Petersburg, Florida, and serves as a Senior Fellow and Chair of the China Policy Initiative. He is an analyst and practitioner with experience at various levels of politics, policy, media, and national security affairs. A veteran commentator and trainer for television, radio, and print media opportunities, Yates has navigated policy decision-making processes across agencies, foreign and domestic. Since 2006, he has been a senior advisor to presidential campaigns, a frequent media commentator, and CEO of D.C. International Advisory. He previously served as President of Radio Free Asia and Professor in the Practice of International Business and Politics at Boise State University. Before opening D.C. International Advisory, Yates served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney for National Security Affairs from 2001 through 2005, where he provided direct support to the Vice President and his national security advisor for White House deliberations. Yates served as chairman of the Idaho Republican Party from August 2014 to April 2017 and as co-chair of the 2016 Republican Platform Subcommittee on National Security. Yates was a candidate for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in Idaho’s May 2018 primary. He regularly appears on several national TV and radio stations. He previously served as Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation and an analyst at the National Security Agency. He received a master’s degree in China Studies from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Yates’ TV career began in 1980 at age 12 on Ed Walker’s WJLA AM Washington show, after winning a coloring contest sponsored by the Muppets, Woodward & Lothrop, and The Washington Post.

Eric Zheng is President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. With nearly 3,000 members, AmCham Shanghai is the largest American chamber of commerce in Asia Pacific. He also serves as Chairman of Heng An Standard Life, a Sino-UK joint venture life insurance company in China. Eric has been active in a number of non-profit and charity organizations. He is a member of The Committee of 100 and currently serves as Chair of Committee of 100 Greater China Region.