Now That China Matters More, Does It Care Less?

James McGregor
Senior Counselor, China, APCO Worldwide,
and Author of One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China

China has been launched to a unplanned stardom on the world stage. There is a growing perception that barriers to foreign business in China have been expanding and hardening since the global economic crisis pushed the U.S. and Europe into a tailspin. With foreign business possibly worrying that their onetime Chinese joint-venture partners will be coming back at them globally, the core concern now would be to rebalance the economic and political dynamic between China and the developed world. Mr. James McGregor will discuss why he believes that political and business leaders on both sides of the Pacific need to lift their heads above overwhelming domestic economic and political concerns and seek solutions before things get out of control.

Mr. James McGregor is a senior counselor for APCO Worldwide, an award-winning, independently owned global communication consultancy with offices in major cities throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In addition, he serves as a member of APCO’s International Advisory Council. He is the author of the bestselling book One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China. With more than 20 years of experience in China, Mr. McGregor is a professional speaker, regular television and radio commentator and a contributor of essays and opinion articles for a variety of publications. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. McGregor was chairman and CEO of JL McGregor & Company, a China-focused consulting and research firm for hedge funds. With Goldman Sachs as the major investor, the firm grew in Beijing, Shanghai and New York. From 2003 to 2006, he was a senior advisor for Ogilvy Public Relations China. Previously he had been the China managing partner for GIV Venture Partners, a venture capital fund that focused on technology and Internet investments in China and India. He served as Taiwan bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal from 1987 to 1990 and China bureau chief from 1990 to 1994, after which he built Dow Jones’ media business as CEO of Dow Jones’ China operations and an international vice-president of the company. He was also a Series A investor in Sohu.com, serving on the board for several years, including during the company’s NASDAQ listing.