The Future of U.S. China Relations

Join the World Affairs Council of Charlotte as leading national experts discuss the US-China relationship! China’s rapid development and Sino-American trade have a direct impact on the lives of nearly everyone in the United States. The Annual CHINA Town Hall connects leading China experts with Americans around the country for a national conversation on the implications of China’s rise on U.S.-China relations and its impact on our towns, states, and nation.

WACC will host Ambassador Craig Allen, the President of the US-China Business Council and former US Ambassador to Brunei who will lead us in a discussion with a particular focus on business, trade, and foreign direct investment.

Afterward, the nation-wide keynote webinar will be with Ray Dalio, a renowned investor, philanthropist, and New York Times best-selling author. He will share his thoughts on today’s most important issues and the critical roles the US and China play in an era of rapid global change.

WACC Town Hall with Ambassador Craig Allen
6:00 – 7:00pm EDT

 

 

Keynote Webinar with Ray Dalio
7:00 – 8:00pm EDT
Register Now (Live Stream)

Biography: Craig Allen 

On July 26, 2018, Craig Allen began his tenure in Washington, DC, as the sixth President of the United States-China Business Council (USCBC), a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing over 200 American companies doing business with China. Prior to joining USCBC, Craig had a long, distinguished career in US public service. Craig began his government career in 1985 at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA). He entered government as a Presidential Management Intern, rotating through the four branches of ITA.

From 1986 to 1988, he was an international economist in ITA’s China Office. In 1988, Craig transferred to the American Institute in Taiwan, where he served as Director of the American Trade Center in Taipei. He held this position until 1992, when he returned to the Department of Commerce for a three-year posting at the US Embassy in Beijing as Commercial Attaché. In 1995, Craig was assigned to the US Embassy in Tokyo, where he served as a Commercial Attaché. In 1998, he was promoted to Deputy Senior Commercial Officer.

From 2000, Craig served a two-year tour at the National Center for APEC in Seattle. While there, he worked on the APEC Summits in Brunei, China, and Mexico. In 2002, it was back to Beijing, where Craig served as the Senior Commercial Officer. In Beijing, Craig was promoted to the Minister Counselor rank of the Senior Foreign Service. After a four-year tour in South Africa, Craig became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. He later became Deputy Assistant Secretary for China. Craig was sworn in as the United States ambassador to Brunei Darussalam on December 19, 2014. He served there until July 2018, when he transitioned to President of the US-China Business Council.

Craig received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Political Science and Asian Studies in 1979. He received a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1985.

Ray Dalio is the founder, co-chief investment officer, and co-chairman of Bridgewater
Associates, LP, the largest hedge fund in the world. Ray Dalio and Bridgewater have been deeply involved in the evolution of the Chinese economy and markets for 36 years. He was drawn to China at first by curiosity and later by a deep affection for the Chinese people and culture. His earliest visit was in 1984 as a guest of CITIC when the company invited Mr. Dalio to teach them how financial markets work and to help them develop their financial system. Mr. Dalio visited China for many years just for the pleasure of it, but eventually, he and Bridgewater began managing investments and providing advice to China’s top investment institutions and senior policymakers; in
2003 he began trading in Chinese markets.

Over the past year and a half, Bridgewater has launched two All Weather China strategies – one for non-Chinese institutional investors to gain exposure to Chinese assets, and the other for domestic investors in China. Bridgewater has followed the development of China’s markets as they have opened up, and the firm has secured licenses to access that allow it to increase diversification locally. Bridgewater maintains offices in Beijing and Shanghai. Mr. Dalio’s close relationship with China extended to his family, who joined him on visits to China starting in 1985. That led to his son Matthew going to an all-Chinese school in Beijing when he was 11 and to his setting up the China Care Foundation to help Chinese orphans with special needs when he was 16. The Dalio family continues to support child welfare and education initiatives through the Beijing Dalio Foundation. Mr. Dalio also established, with Bill Gates and three Chinese philanthropists, the China Global Philanthropy Institute, which teaches Chinese philanthropists and policy-makers best practices in philanthropy.