The annual Future of U.S. & China Conference: Under Renewed Pressure will take place on Thursday, January 16, 2025 in downtown San Francisco, with limited virtual offerings for Seattle. For the seventh consecutive year, Asia Society Northern California members, VIPs, and guests will come together for live programming to grapple with increasingly complex issues facing the United States, China, and the world. Reserve your tickets today! 

The Future of U.S. & China Conference is part of our Seeking Truth Through Facts U.S.-China Program Series. This Series focuses on new strategic frameworks for the bilateral relationship, plurilateral relationships, rebalancing trade, national security, technology, and climate change; as well as the global impact of the political and economic landscape. This conference consists of multiple panels featuring top leading voices across the fields of business, government, technology, academia, and entrepreneurship.

Pre-Conference Reception

• Wed, Jan 15, 2025 - 4:00PM - 6:30 PM

  • This pre-conference reception is invitation only. Please email Jason Fong, Director of Partnerships and Memberships, if you are interested in sponsoring and attending! 

Conference Agenda 

• Thurs, Jan 16, 2025 - 9:00 AM-2:30 PM - Public Conference Panels and Speeches

Welcome Remarks from Asia Society Northern California

• Margaret Conley, Executive Director, Asia Society Northern California

Session 1: A New Architecture for U.S.-China Engagement – What Will It Take?

Tensions between the U.S. and China have escalated in the past five years, and public polling shows that U.S. sentiment towards China is low regardless of political affiliation. Stephen Roach will delve into his research, which examines the narratives that exacerbated these tensions, the consequences of conflict escalation between the U.S. and China, and strategies to promote conflict resolution for one of the most significant geopolitical relationships in the world.

• Stephen Roach, Senior Fellow, Paul Tsai China Center, Yale Law School 

Session 2: Assessing the “Made in China 2025” Plan: Key Challenges Shaping Politics, Economy, Technology, and Society 

• As we approach 2025, China’s "Made in China 2025" plan—the country’s 10-year strategy to drive self-reliance in high-tech sectors—faces critical scrutiny. This session will examine the policy’s progress, challenges, and effectiveness, alongside the broader challenges that China faces as we enter 2025, in economic development, domestic politics, social stability, and global trade. This session will also highlight the implications of China’s domestic approach to the evolving dynamics of U.S.-China relations.   
  • Jing Qian (moderator), Co-Founder, Center for China Analysis (CCA), Asia Society Policy Institute 
  • Jennifer Choo, Director of Research and Strategy, Center for China Analysis (CCA), Asia Society Policy Institute 
  • Dan Wang, Fellow, Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School, Technology Analyst, Gavekal Dragonomics 
  • Guoguang Wu, PhD, Senior Research Scholar, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions; Senior Fellow, Center for China Analysis, Asia Society Policy Institute 

Session 3: What will China Policy from the Incoming Trump Administration Look like?

• What will President Trump’s China policy look like? Can we expect the adoption of President Biden's efforts toward reproachment, or will the new administration carry forward President Trump's playbook from 2016? Will Congress focus on increasing domestic competitiveness through policies and programs or place emphasis on confrontation? 

  National Security and Diplomacy

  • This panel will discuss areas implicating national security and diplomacy such as China's growing military and national defense. Panelists will examine U.S. priorities and actions in reaction to military and scientific advancements, alliances, renewal of the bilateral Science and Technology Agreement, and common global challenges.  

    • James McGregor (moderator), Chairman, Greater China, APCO Worldwide 
    • Anja Manuel, Co-Founder and Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC  
    • Daniel Russel, Vice President, International Security and Diplomacy, Asia Society Policy Institute

   

  Economic Security and Trade 

  • The panel will discuss economic and trade competition with China, including international trade and tariffs, supply chain decoupling, the prominence of the US dollar in international commerce, and trade and technology collaboration. 
    • James McGregor (moderator), Chairman, Greater China, APCO Worldwide 
    • Wendy Cutler, Vice President, ASPI; Managing Director, Asia Society Washington, D.C. Office
    • Elissa Alben, Vice President and Head of Global Trade and Innovation Policy, Pfizer 

Session 4: How Business is Coping with Changing Relations: A CEO Conversation 

• The session looks at how CEOs are managing the changing bilateral and political landscape, including political risks, increased tariffs, and geopolitical tensions. 
  • Mary Kay Magistad (moderator), Board Chair, Global Voices
  • Ernie Thrasher, Chief Executive Officer, Xcoal Energy & Resources 
  • Ken Wilcox, Chairman & CEO Emeritus of Silicon Valley Bank; Vice Chairman and CEO Emeritus of SPDB-SVB 
  • Roberta Lipson, Founder, United Family Healthcare and Vice Chair, New Frontier Health 

Session 5: Ambassadors on the Global Navigation of U.S. & China Relations

• The panelists, current Ambassadors to the US and former US Ambassadors, will discuss approaches to navigating dynamic relationships with the US and China in the context of evolving global challenges. Topics include fostering economic ties and addressing security concerns on the path toward mutual understanding and stability.

  • Kathleen Stephens (moderator), Board Chair, The Korea Society; Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2008-2011)
  • Lui Tuck Yew, Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to the United States of America
  • Suriya Chindawongse, Ambassador of Thailand to the United States of America

• 2:30PM - 5:00PM - Afternoon Roundtables

  • We are hosting private, off-the-record roundtables in the afternoon. These are exclusive opportunities for interactive discussions with leaders in varying fields. Tickets can be secured for the following topics. 

2:00 - 2:40 PM Exclusive Roundtable with Ambassador Kevin Rudd (Invite and Sponsor Only) 

• Ambassador Kevin Rudd will be delivering a private, off-the-record session via livestream on the latest developments in international relations and implications for the Bay Area. This session is only open to invited sponsors. 

2:45 - 3:45PM  Bridging the U.S. & China – Voices from Varying Fields

• Despite the tense nature of geopolitics, people-to-people relations and exchange remains a crucial aspect of international relations. Hear from our panelists who have experience in bridging the U.S. and China divide and cultivating warmer relations across education, the arts, health, business, human rights, journalism, and people-to-people exchange. 
  • James McGregor (moderator), Chairman, Greater China, APCO Worldwide
  • Cyrus Janssen, U.S.-China Business Consultant
  • John Kamm, Chairman & Executive Director, The Dui Hua Foundation
  • Jing Qian, Co-Founder, Center for China Analysis (CCA), Asia Society Policy Institute
  • Jay Xu, Director and CEO, Asian Art Museum

2:45 - 3:45PM  Investing in China 

• How do investors think about China? This panel of investors will examine how shifting geopolitics impact businesses and individuals investing in China. Speakers will also provide practical insights into how to assess risk and make decisions when investing in China, what opportunities and challenges investors in China face, and investment trends to expect as the new U.S. administration takes office.   
  • Melissa J. Ma (moderator), Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Asia Alternatives
  • Andy Rothman, Founder and CEO, Sinology LLC
  • Nicole Belytschko, Chief Investment Officer, C.M. Capital

4:00 - 5:00PM  Ambassadors on the Global Navigation of U.S. and China Relations

• This is the off-the-record session for our panel with current Ambassadors to the U.S. and former U.S. Ambassadors, will discuss approaches to navigating dynamic relationships with the U.S. and China in the context of evolving global challenges. Topics include fostering economic ties and addressing security concerns on the path toward mutual understanding and stability. 
  • Frank Lavin (moderator), Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution at Stanford University; Former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore (2001-2005)
  • Lui Tuck Yew, Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to the United States of America
  • Suriya Chindawongse, Ambassador of Thailand to the United States of America
  • Kathleen Stephens, Board Chair, The Korea Society; Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2008-2011)

4:00 - 5:00PM   Frenemies: Technology Competition and Collaboration Between the US and China

• The U.S. and China have become “frenemies” in the fields of technology and science, facing competition with each other while also navigating the need to collaborate for global innovation. To what extent do the U.S. & China face a reinvigorated technology race? Can tech and science collaboration restore trust between the two countries, or will it create further bifurcation?  
  • Gary Rieschel (moderator), Asia Society Northern California Board Chair; Founding Managing Partner, Qiming; Asia Society Trustee
  • Alfred Chuang, Founder and General Partner, Race Capital 
  • Fengmin Gong, Chairman, HYSTA (Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association); CEO and Co-Founder, MetafoodX 
  • Jonathan McKay, former Head of Product, Growth, OpenAI
  • Margaret E. Roberts, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, San Diego; Director, China Data Lab, 21st Century China Center 

Lunch will be served. Registration and confirmation of registration is required. Our event location in San Francisco will be emailed to registered attendees one month before the event date. Press must email [email protected] for registration inquiries. If you are interested in joining the event with discounts, sign up to become a member here. Any inquires can be directed to [email protected]. All guests more acknowledge to abide by Asia Society Northern California's Visitor Code of Conduct upon registration. 

Thank you to our generous sponsors. If you or your company would like to uplift your brand at the conference or contribute to support our mission, please email Jason Fong, Director of Partnerships and Memberships.

SPEAKER BIOS

Elissa Alben leads Pfizer’s Global Trade and Innovation Policy and International Government Relations team in Washington, D.C.  She is responsible for overseeing the development and execution of trade and innovation policy across all major markets in which Pfizer operates and engaging with Embassies and other government officials on international policy issues affecting Pfizer.  Prior to joining Pfizer, Elissa served as senior trade and innovation counsel for the Senate Finance Committee and spent nearly eight years in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, where she served as Deputy Assistant USTR for Enforcement and Monitoring and chief lawyer for several U.S. trade agreements, and represented the United States in disputes and negotiations before the World Trade Organization.  Prior to her government service, Elissa practiced international trade law in Washington, D.C.  Elissa received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her law degree from Columbia Law School.

Nicole Belytschko serves as the Chief Investment Officer. Prior to joining C.M. Capital, she was an investment manager with Comprehensive Financial Management, a large West Coast multi-family office. Previously, Ms. Belytschko worked with Scient in developing the firm’s corporate venture arm and leading direct investments in technology companies and was a member of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette’s Private Fund Group, where she marketed and distributed alternative investment products. Ms. Belytschko holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA, and a BA, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

His Excellency Dr. Suriya Chindawongse has served as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the United States since June 2024. After a brief stint as Assistant Manager at Citibank, Thailand from 1992, he joined the Thai Foreign Service in 1993. His diplomatic career spans over three decades, with key roles including Speechwriter and Interpreter for several Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers, Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs during Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2019, Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore from 2020 to 2021, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2021 to 2024 where he also served as Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council (2021-2022), Vice-President of the Board of UN Women (2022-2023), Co-Chair of the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage Outcome Document (2023), and Chair of the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the UN (2023-2024). He received his M.A.L.D. in 1989 and Ph.D. in 1993 from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University in Massachusetts, and a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude with majors in International Affairs, and Economics and Business, and a minor in Mathematics in 1987, from Lafayette College, Pennsylvania.  

Jennifer Choo is the Director of Research and Strategy at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis (CCA). Prior to taking this position, she served as the Associate Director of the Stanford China Program at Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (2016-2021) and then as the Strategic Policy Advisor at the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) (2021-2024). In her last position at SCCEI, she played a key role in developing and launching the center’s flagship initiative, SCCEI China Briefs, which communicates data-intensive, academic research on contemporary China to decisionmakers at the highest levels of government and business. Her current position at CCA also marks Jennifer’s return to Asia Society, as she served as the Director of Programs at Asia Society Northern California from 2014 to 2016. Prior to her doctorate, she worked at The China Law Center of Yale Law School helping to collaborate on rule of law programs with various Chinese institutions.   

Alfred Chuang is the founder and general partner at Race Capital, a world class venture capital firm for all things software infrastructure. Recognized by Andreessen Horowitz as the “Silicon Valley CEO’s CEO”, Alfred is an accomplished entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Prior to Race, Alfred co-founded and took BEA Systems public (Nasdaq: BEAS). In addition, Alfred became BEA’s chairman of the board where he remained until BEA was sold to Oracle in 2008 for $8.6B. BEA was the fastest enterprise technology company to reach revenue of USD$1B. Prior to BEA, Alfred spent almost 9 years at Sun Microsystems, Inc. During his tenure, Sun grew from less than 1000 to 60,000 people strong with revenue over $6B. Alfred led product development, network infrastructure, systems architecture, and expanded Sun’s business to Asia. Alfred’s notable awards include C/F Silicon Valley Philanthropist of the Year, SD Forum Visionary Award, CIO Magazine 20/20 Vision Award Honoree and Community Star from Asian Americans for Community Involvement, eChina Forum Silicon Valley Award Honoree, and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist.  

Wendy Cutler is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. In these roles, she focuses on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade, investment, and innovation, as well as women’s empowerment in Asia. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations. She has published a series of ASPI papers on the Asian trade landscape and serves as a regular media commentator on trade and investment developments in Asia and the world.   

Dr. Fengmin Gong is the Co-Founder and CEO of Metafoodx, a Silicon Valley startup delivering AIoT automation & data analytics for foodservice industry.  In his volunteer capacity, Fengmin is the current Chairman of the Board for HYSTA, a non-profit elevating the leadership and entrepreneurship for the Asian American community. Fengmin earned his D.Sc and M.S degrees in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis, and his M.Eng and B.Eng from Xi’an Jiaotong University. He was the corporate VP of InfoSec Strategy at DiDi Global and the Head of DiDi Labs in Mountain View before starting Metafoodx.  He has co-founded 4 startups including Palo Alto Networks (IPO) and IntruVert Networks (acquired by McAfee). He was the Chief Security Content Officer at FireEye, playing a critical role with its successful product pivot.  His past founding roles include Chief Scientist, Chief Strategy Officer, and CEO.  He has 70 awarded patents and is a value innovator in cybersecurity, AI, and tech for humanity.

Cyrus Janssen is a geopolitical analyst, investor, speaker, and social media influencer with over 1 million fans across platforms. Born in the United States, Cyrus lived abroad for 15 years and enjoys sharing cultural and geopolitical insights from his travels to over 60+ countries. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cyrus is the CEO of FastForward Marketing, a social media and consulting company helping brands in North America and Asia connect and build successful social media campaigns. 

John Kamm is an American businessman and human rights campaigner active in China since 1972. He is the founder and chairman of The Dui Hua Foundation. Kamm was awarded the Department of Commerce’s Best Global Practices Award by President Bill Clinton in 1997 and the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights by President George W. Bush in 2001. Since his first intervention on behalf of a Chinese prisoner in May 1990, Kamm has made more than 100 trips to China to engage the government in a dialogue on human rights, focusing on the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons. He has made 10 visits to Chinese prisons and has submitted requests for information on more than 1,000 prisoners. Kamm received a BA from Princeton University (1972) and an MA from Harvard University (1975). He was the Hong Kong correspondent and representative of the National Council for US-China Trade (1975-1979) and President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (1990). He also managed Occidental Chemical Corporation’s business in China and the Far East (1986-1991).

Frank Lavin is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he focuses on Asia issues and trade policy. Lavin served as Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2005 to 2007, leading trade negotiations with China and India. He was U.S. Ambassador to Singapore from 2001 to 2005, playing a key role in negotiating the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. His earlier government service included senior roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. In the private sector, Lavin held finance and management positions in Hong Kong and Singapore with Bank of America and Citibank. Lavin holds a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, Masters’ degrees in Chinese Language and History from Georgetown, and a Master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, along with an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School. His latest book is Inside the Reagan White House and he is a columnist for Forbes magazine.  

Roberta Lipson is the founder of United Family Healthcare (UFH) and the Vice Chair of New Frontier Health, Chair of AmCham China and Director of the U.S.-China Business Council.  She has over 40 years of experience as a pioneer in the healthcare industry in China. She originally co-founded United Family Healthcare’s predecessor company Chindex in 1981, expanding the business from China’s top medical equipment distribution company into China’s first and largest foreign-invested healthcare system. United Family Healthcare was rated in 2016 as “The Most Trusted Healthcare Brand of China” by the Chinese Business Journal, and has appeared at the top of private hospital listings every year since. Ms. Lipson also founded and leads the United Foundation for China’s Health, a not-for-profit providing lifesaving interventions and health management for underserved populations. Ms. Lipson is an active leader in the business community in Beijing and Washington, currently serving for the ninth year as a director and audit committee chair of the U.S. China Business Council, and is Chair of the Board of Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), and Co-Chair of the AmCham China Healthcare Forum and founding Chair of the Healthcare China Program (HCP). Because of her outstanding contribution in China, Roberta Lipson received “The Great Wall Friendship Award”, the highest honor that Beijing government gives to foreign experts in Beijing.  

Mr Lui Tuck Yew was appointed as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States of America in June 2023. He was Singapore’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from November 2019 to April 2023. Prior to this, he was Singapore’s Ambassador to Japan from June 2017 to October 2019. Mr Lui was the Minister for Transport from 2011 to 2015 and concurrently Second Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2012 and Second Minister for Defense in 2015. Mr Lui was Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts from 2009 to 2011. He was first elected as Member of Parliament in 2006 and served as a Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts until 2009. Mr Lui was a Singapore Armed Forces (Overseas) scholar and served in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), rising to the position of Chief of Navy in 1999. Mr Lui was appointed Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore in 2003 and concurrently Deputy Secretary (Land), Ministry of Transport. He joined the Housing and Development Board (HDB) as Chief Executive Officer in 2005. 

Melissa J. Ma is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Asia Alternatives. She splits her time between Asia Alternatives' Hong Kong and San Francisco offices. Melissa is on the Firm's Investment Committee and co-leads Asia Alternatives' investments in buyout, direct co-investments and special situations. In addition, she oversees investor relations, asset allocation and investment strategy and process. Melissa received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and holds an A.B. in Economics and East Asian Studies, magna cum laude, from Harvard College. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and English.

Mary Kay Magistad is the board chair of Global Voices, a multilingual community and online platform of hundreds of journalists, translators, and human rights activists from more than 40 countries, who share and translate stories with the aim of increasing global understanding of diverse cultures and perspectives. Mary Kay is herself an award-winning journalist who lived and reported in East Asia for more than two decades, including in China for NPR (1995-99) and PRX’s The World (2003-13), and in Southeast Asia for NPR, The Washington Post, and others (1988-95). She created the critically acclaimed podcasts, On China’s New Silk Road and Whose Century Is It?, the former as a collaboration with the Global Reporting Centre and the latter as a co-production with the public radio program The World,  as well as the China Books and COAL+ICE podcasts during her tenure as deputy director of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations. Mary Kay has taught international reporting, and headed the audio journalism department, at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. She lives in San Francisco.

Anja Manuel is Co-Founder and Principal along with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, a strategic consulting firm that helps US companies navigate international markets. She is also author of the critically acclaimed This Brave New World: India, China, and the United States, published by Simon and Schuster in 2016, and numerous articles and papers. Additionally, she is the Executive Director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum, a premier bipartisan forum on foreign policy in the United States. From 2005 to 2007, she served as an official at the U.S. Department of State, as Special Assistant to the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, responsible for Asia policy. Earlier in her career, Anja was an attorney at WilmerHale, working on Supreme Court and international cases and representing clients before the US Congress, Supreme Court, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, and the SEC.  She began her career as an investment banker at Salomon Brothers in London. A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and Stanford University, Anja also lectured and was a research affiliate at Stanford University from 2009 to 2019, teaching courses on US Foreign Policy in Asia and Technology Policy.  

James McGregor is chairman of APCO’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. He has lived in China for nearly three decades and is fluent in Chinese. He splits his time between Shanghai and Beijing. 

Jonathan McKay (米凯) has spent his career driving growth and building teams at organizations changing the world. At OpenAI, he led Growth to nearly triple users and revenue for ChatGPT. At Meta, he founded over 18 teams, including the information operations team responsible for combatting information operations for Facebook. He is fluent in Chinese, rusty in Arabic and Java, and founded a real estate company now managing over $95m in assets. 

Jing Qian co-founded the Center for China Analysis (CCA) at the Asia Society Policy Institute alongside the Hon. Dr. Kevin Rudd, to whom he served as a Senior Advisor for almost a decade. As the Managing Director of CCA, Jing leads its strategy, research, and policy work on China, which includes coordination of a series of Track 1.5/2 dialogues. Jing also co-leads the Decoding Chinese Politics and Cure4Cancer International Clinical Trials Collaboration projects. Jing serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum and is a founding member of both the Bloomberg New Economy International Cancer Coalition and the AstraZeneca Global Health Equity Advisory Board. Jing is also a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. Jing’s own research is focused on China's elite politics and its impact on China's domestic and foreign policy, particularly regarding U.S.-China relations. His analyses have appeared in Bloomberg, CBC, The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Nature, Nature Medicine, etc.

Gary Rieschel, Chair of Asia Society Seattle and Northern California, has over 30 years of successful operating and investing experience as a senior executive, entrepreneur, investor, and global business strategist. He held executive positions at Intel, Sequent, and Cisco, and was the Founder of the Softbank Venture Capital group. He is Founding Managing Partner of Qiming, a firm with over $8B USD under management focused on early stage investments in China and one of China’s premier VC firms. Mr. Rieschel’s investment areas are Healthcare and Cleantech. He advised the China Greentech Initiative, and the Rocky Mountain Institute in its introduction to China. He actively supports the US China Clean Energy Forum, PERC (Property and Environmental Research), The Nature Conservancy, the Climate Leadership Council, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Atlantic Council, and the U.S. Olympic Foundation where he and his wife Yucca serve as Sports Ambassadors for mental health for the U.S. Olympic team.  He served on the joint venture boards of Blackrock/Bank of China and Silicon Valley Bank/Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Gary holds a BA in Biology from Reed College in Portland, OR, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He lived in Japan for five years in the late 1980s and lived in Shanghai from 2005 through 2016. He now lives in Seattle, WA. He is the Chairman of the Asia Society Northern California Advisory Board and a Global Trustee.

Stephen Roach is faculty at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center. He was formerly Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and the firm’s Chief Economist for the bulk of his 30-year career at Morgan Stanley. A rare combination of thought leadership on Wall Street and academia places Stephen Roach in the unique position as a leading practitioner of analytical macroeconomics.  At Yale, he introduced new courses for undergraduates and graduate students on the “The Next China” and “The Lessons of Japan.” Dr. Roach’s current research program focuses on the conflict-prone US-China relationship. His latest book, Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives (Yale University Press, 2022) examines the ominous trajectory of conflict escalation between the U.S. and China and a provides a unique roadmap for conflict resolution.  His 2014 book, Unbalanced: The Codependency of America and China explored the risks and opportunities of the world’s most important economic relationship of the 21st century. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 1982, Stephen Roach served on the research staff of the Federal Reserve Board and was also a research fellow at the Brookings Institution.  

Margaret Roberts is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at UC San Diego where she holds a Chancellors Associates Endowed Chair.  She studies digital politics and political methodology, with a focus on government influence on social media and using automated content analysis in the social sciences. Roberts’ recent book: Text as Data: A New Framework for Machine Learning and the Social Sciences, provides a guide for using computational text analysis to learn about the social world. In another recent book Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China's Great Firewall, Roberts examines the impacts of censorship in China using large online datasets. Censored was listed as one of the Foreign Affairs Best Books of 2018, was honored with the Goldsmith Book Award, and has been awarded the Best Book Award in the Human Rights Section and Information Technology and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. 

Andy Rothman is the Founder and CEO of Sinology LLC.  He offers advice to institutional investors and companies on the opportunities and risks presented by China’s economy, and on the impact of changes in US-China relations.  Andy has worked in the financial industry since 2000, first as the Shanghai-based China macro strategist for CLSA, then with Matthews Asia, based in California.  His clients included global wealth managers, pension funds, endowments, family offices, private banks and sovereign wealth funds.  Prior to that, Andy had a 17-year, China-focused career as a US diplomat.  After first visiting China as a student in 1980, he lived and worked there for more than 20 years.  Andy is a member of the Advisory Council for the Asia Society of Northern California, and is on the board of directors of the Coral Tree Education Foundation.  

HE the Hon Dr Kevin Rudd AC is Australia’s Ambassador to the United States of America, taking up his posting in Washington in March 2023. Ambassador Rudd served as Australia’s twenty-sixth Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010, then as Minister for Foreign Affairs, before a second term as Prime Minister in 2013. He was Member for Griffith in the Australian Parliament from 1998 to 2013. Since leaving government, Ambassador Rudd has resided in the United States where he is recognized as a leading analyst of China. In 2015, he became inaugural President of the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York. In 2020, he was appointed President and CEO of the Asia Society globally and, in 2022, he founded the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. In 2019, Ambassador Rudd was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to Indigenous reconciliation, innovative economic initiatives, and major policy reform, and through senior advisory roles with international organizations. 

Daniel Russel is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat in Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary on July 12, 2013, Mr. Russel served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs. During his tenure there, he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region. Prior to joining the NSC in January of 2009, he served in Japan (2005-2008); The Hague, Netherlands (2002-2005); Nicosia, Cyprus (1999-2002); Republic of Korea (1992-95); Nagoya, Japan (1987-89); and more. In 1996, Mr. Russel was awarded the State Department's Una Chapman Cox Fellowship sabbatical and authored America’s Place in the World, a book published by Georgetown University.  

Ambassador (ret) Kathleen Stephens was a career diplomat in the United States Foreign Service, 1978-2015. She was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea 2008-2011, the first woman and first Korean speaker to serve in that position. Other overseas assignments included postings to China, Korea, former Yugoslavia, Portugal, Northern Ireland, and India. Ambassador Stephens served in a number of policy positions in Washington at the Department of State and the White House, including acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (2012), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (2005-2007), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs (2003-2005), and National Security Council Director for European Affairs at the Clinton White House. Ambassador Stephens was President and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute of America from 2018 to 2023.  She was William J. Perry Fellow for Korea at Stanford University from 2015 to 2018. She has also been Endowed Chair Professor for Language and Diplomacy at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, and Senior State Department Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.  

Ernie Thrasher has over fifty (50) years’ experience in the coal industry. His coal experience began in 1974 working for a family-owned mining company with operations in Maryland. Prior to forming Xcoal Energy & Resources in 2003, Thrasher spent twenty-two (22) years in various global marketing positions at Primary Coal and AMCI. Xcoal markets U.S. and Australian origin coal to customers throughout the world, Xcoal activities include the financing and development of mining projects and related infrastructure projects. Thrasher founded XLNG Energy & Resources in 2015, which is marketing LNG originating from global sources with emphasis on natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica Shale basins in the U.S., to customers in South America, Europe, and Asia. Thrasher serves as a Director on the National Committee on U.S. China Relations, as a Director of the U.S.- India Strategic Partnership Forum, a Global Trustee for the Asia Society, a member of the Global Advisory Council of the Wilson Center, a member of the Global Advisory Board of the Kissinger Institute on China and the U.S., a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the President’s Leadership Council-Boy Scouts of America. 

Dan Wang is a fellow at the Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center. From 2017 to 2023, he was technology analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics, becoming one of the most authoritative and frequently cited experts on China and technology. Dan’s annual letters from Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai were widely circulated. His essays have been published in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs (cover story), the Financial Times, New York Magazine, Bloomberg Opinion, and The Atlantic. Dan has has appeared on on the 'Ezra Klein Show,' Bloomberg's 'Odd Lots,' Kaiser Kuo's 'Sinica,' and other podcasts. He studied philosophy at the University of Rochester and previously worked in Silicon Valley. At Yale, Dan is also a Lecturer at Yale’s Macmillan Center for International and Area Studies. He is writing a book (to be published by W. W. Norton and Penguin) on China as an 'engineering state.' 

Ken Wilcox currently serves as Emeritus Chairman of Silicon Valley Bank and was both President and Vice Chairman of SPD Silicon Valley Bank, Silicon Valley Bank’s joint-venture bank in Shanghai. Mr. Wilcox was previously the CEO of SVB Financial Group. In that role, he successfully pursued a strategy of expansion and diversification, while remaining focused on the group’s core niches of technology, life sciences, venture capital and premium wineries. Mr. Wilcox was (until July of 2021) Chairman of the Board of the Asia Society of Northern California, Treasurer of the Asian Art Museum, and a member of the Advisory Board of the 21st Century China Center Advisory Board. Also, he is the Chief Credit Officer of Columbia Lake Venture Debt Fund. He is also an adjunct professor and member of International Advisory Board at Fudan University in Shanghai, and an advisor to a number of startups.  

Guoguang Wu is Senior Fellow on Chinese Politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis. With a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University, he is now a Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, Stanford University. His research specializes in Chinese politics and comparative political economy, including, in China studies, elite politics, national political institutions and policy making mechanisms, transition from communism, the politics of development, China’s search for its position in the world, and, in comparative political economy, transition of capitalism with globalization, the emergence of capitalism in comparative perspectives, and the worldwide rise of the economic state. He is the author of four books, which include two major research monographs: Globalization against Democracy: A Political Economy of Capitalism after Its Global Triumph (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and China’s Party Congress: Power, Legitimacy, and Institutional Manipulation (Cambridge University Press, 2015). 

Dr. Jay Xu has served as Director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco since 2008. He is the first Chinese American director at a major art museum in the United States. He spearheaded to successful conclusion by 2020 the Transformation Project, all underwritten by a $100 million campaign. In 2015, Dr. Xu became the first Asian American museum director elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2022, Dr. Xu was appointed by the US Congress to serve as one of the eight commissioners on the Congressional Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. In 2024, Dr. Xu was elected to serve on the governing board of the American Alliance of Museums, which is the only organization in the United States representing the entire museum field. Dr. Xu earned his MA and PhD in art and archaeology at Princeton University, and has had forty years of international museum experience as a research scholar, curator, and museum director. Dr. Xu has also worked at the Shanghai Museum (1983-1990), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1995-1996), the Seattle Art Museum (1996- 2003), and the Art Institute of Chicago (2003-2008). 

Margaret Conley, a Bay Area native, is the Executive Director of Asia Society Northern California. She has expanded the Center from San Francisco, to Silicon Valley and Seattle. She served as Chair of Asia Society's global Asian Americans Building America task force. Margaret was previously based in Asia for several years as a television news correspondent with ABC News in Jakarta and Tokyo, and with Bloomberg Television in Shanghai. She was part of the global ABC team that won a News and Documentary Emmy Award for presidential inauguration coverage. Her interviews include Howard Schultz, Richard Branson, Ban Ki-Moon, LeBron James and Beyoncé. Her non-profit experience includes the Berggruen Institute, where she built and launched a Philosophy + Culture Institute with a focus on the US and China. She has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s in journalism from the University of Hong Kong, which specializes in coverage of Asia. Margaret was selected as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2019, and is a member of the board of the International Women's Forum.