Senior Counselor of Cohen Group

Running for: Chair or Vice Chair

Campaign Statement

I advocated for U.S. business for over 20 years during my career with the U.S. Department of Commerce, and over the past two years as Governor on the AmCham China Board.  

If I have the honor of being chosen AmCham China Chair, I will make sure the Chamber continues to be the leading voice for U.S. business in China.  I will focus on maintaining a Chamber that is inclusive, effective, accountable, and efficient.

Inclusiveness includes:

  • Meeting with members to share ideas, brainstorm new initiatives, and address problems;
  • Helping to develop programs / events that interest all members;
  • Working with our chapters in the Northeast, Wuhan, and Tianjin, to increase cooperation among chapters.

Effectiveness includes:

  • Hands-on support of cooperative programs in Agriculture, Aviation, Energy, and Health;
  • Helping ensure that the Chamber’s Committees address members’ needs personally presiding at many of the organization’s hundreds of events.

Accountability includes:

  • Representing members’ interests in meetings with Chinese Government officials from (but not limited to) MOFCOM, NDRC, CCPIT, MPS, MIIT, MOFA;
  • Representing our membership at Chinese Government-sponsored conferences;
  • Leading the Chamber’s Outreach delegation to Washington, DC, ensuring our members’ issues are heard on the Hill and in the Executive Branch;
  • Working closely with staff to ensure the highest standard of stewardship of the Chamber’s funds.  

Efficiency includes:

  • Working closely with staff to prepare press statements, articles, and public speeches;
  • Drafting a monthly column on topics relevant to the membership;
  • Keeping Board of Governors and other meetings crisp and focused for the best use of everyone’s time.

Biography

The Honorable William Zarit

William Zarit advises U.S. and Chinese companies on investment and government relations strategies, and is also currently an AmCham China Board of Govenor Vice Chair.

As Minister for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Mr. Zarit led the U.S. Department of Commerce’s trade promotion and trade policy activities in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang.  Mr. Zarit holds the title of Career Minister.

Prior to his posting to Beijing, Mr. Zarit was Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Operations, for the U.S. Commercial Service, overseeing Commercial Sections in U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide.  Mr. Zarit also served in Washington as the U.S. Commercial Service’s Regional Director for East Asia/Pacific.

Mr. Zarit previously served as Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at both the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and at the American Institute in Taiwan.

Before joining the U.S. Commercial Service Mr. Zarit was Economic and Commercial Program Officer for the New York-based National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.  Prior to that he served as Marketing Manager/China for the California-based telecommunications firm Pacific Telesis International, preceded by his work as Project Manager for the high-tech marketing firm China Business Associates, both positions based in Beijing.  Mr. Zarit also served as Mandarin Chinese Interpreter for State Department Language Services.

He earned an M.B.A. with Honors from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. with Honors in Political Science from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Author: AmCham China