Jeffrey Bernstein, Individual Member
Campaign Statement
Since arriving in Beijing in 1995 as a young McKinsey and Co. consultant and student of Chinese language, I’ve been active as a participant, volunteer, and ultimately a leader of AmChams in China. Over this 30-year period, I’ve experienced first-hand AmCham China’s unique capabilities in advocacy, business intelligence, and community building, and seen how they contribute to the success of American-invested enterprises in China.
Most recently, in my roles as Chairman of AmCham China’s newly formed Southwest Chapter (2023-2024) as well as Co-Chair of AmCham China’s Healthcare Committee (2023), and serving on the Board in an ex-officio capacity, I have seen AmCham’s relevance increase, in line with the vibrancy of our advocacy efforts. There is growing interest on the part of both U.S. companies and our Chinese regulators to have an “honest broker” like AmCham China to facilitate high-stakes policy discussions. By providing such a platform, AmCham also helps our Chinese government interlocutors to ensure that they are responding to issues that affect multiple companies, allowing them to defuse conservative arguments that they are just reacting to the “squeaky wheel” or engaging in spurious acts of favoritism.
The importance of this platform is no more evident than in Chengdu, where the Sichuan Province and Chengdu Municipality have welcomed the reconstitution of the AmCham under the leadership and management of AmCham China. The Southwest Chapter just launched at the end of 2023, and is already AmCham China’s fastest source of net membership growth, experiencing a net gain of 20 members so far this year, even in the face of economic and political headwinds at the national level. It’s all the more impressive to see this healthy shift in posture in the context of the tit-for-tat consulate closures of 2020, which dealt a serious blow to the bilateral relationship in that region.
The lesson learned from AmCham China’s success in Chengdu is that NOW is our time to grow our footprint in the Southwest and nationally.
Especially in this era, when U.S.-China political relations are more fraught with distrust than they’ve been in nearly 40 years, it also is a remarkable opportunity for AmCham China to have an impact through:
- Enhancing our role as an advocate in Beijing and at the provincial level for policies that drive the growth of private industry, entrepreneurship, and consumption, at a time when China prioritizes economic recovery.
- Enhancing our role as an advocate in Washington DC for American competitiveness, which includes encouraging American companies to engage globally, within the guardrails of reasonably designed national security guidelines and sanctions which apply equally to all companies hailing from our geopolitical allies.
- Enhancing our role in both Beijing and Washington as an outspoken advocate for a level playing field for bilateral investment. Investment restrictions, either inbound or outbound in either country, should be determined based on a thorough investigation of facts as opposed to sheer politics, lest the same treatment be hurled against companies from the opposite side. We need to speak out about the harm to the American public of simplistic “zero-sum,” “we win, you lose” formulas to bilateral relations, which are “red meat” to local audiences but destructive to the countries’ mutual interests.
- Confidently stepping forward in our role as a catalyst for targeted, high-impact people-to-people exchanges between the U.S. and China, leveraging our unique capabilities as an aggregator of U.S. business experience in China. This could include promoting youth visit programs surrounding culture, social impact, and business learning. Given the limited people-to-people interactions over the past years, our focus should be on rekindling interest in China among American youth.
If we focus on these critical activities and are viewed as an objective and thoughtful advocate for American civilian interests in the bilateral relationship, AmCham China will grow in relevance within U.S. boardrooms. By sharing experiences, we can tell the story of how U.S. companies overcome challenges and secure opportunities in the China market. In that context, we also can explain AmCham China’s role as an effective partner to and advocate for U.S. companies in China. With demonstrated relevance, AmCham will inspire U.S. companies to increase investment in AmCham China memberships, in the form of program fees, sponsorships, and willingness to share their staff’s valuable time.
Success in these trying times will require us pulling together as a team, under a unified mission to improve the bilateral relationship. Most importantly, policymakers on both sides need to believe in the possibility and benefits of a healthier bilateral relationship in order to have the appetite to listen and engage.
Conversely, if either China or the U.S. lose hope in the potential for any mutually beneficial cooperation, which seems to be a growing consensus in both Beijing and Washington these days, the death spiral begins.
Fortunately, that kind of entropy in the relationship is not foreordained. The U.S. and China are the world’s two most impactful economies, with no shared borders, and common interests in stable economic growth, mitigating climate change, and controlling non-state actor terrorist activities. Thus, the sky should be the limit for U.S.-China collaboration. As such, the narrative must change. AmCham China can boldly stand as a symbol of, as well as a shield for, our members who collectively desire to foster a more positive environment for engagement between the U.S. and China.
I would appreciate your support and, most importantly, your active participation in our mission. It would be my honor to serve on the Board of Governors of AmCham China.
Biography
Jeffrey Bernstein has lived and worked in Asia and been an active volunteer leader in AmChams for nearly 30 years. He is the Founder and President of Epidaurus Advisors Inc., a US-invested boutique healthcare advisory firm with extensive academic medical resources on multiple continents and deep experience in health service delivery, spanning realms of both medical care and wellness. The firm supports Chinese hospitals to:
- Improve clinical care: boosting clinical quality, technique, and, ultimately, outcomes.
- Enhance staff resilience and patient satisfaction by pairing patient centricity with a more humanist approach to staff wellbeing and talent development.
- Promote and integrate the concept of wellness, harnessing technological advancements in disease prevention and/or early detection and treatment, weaving them into the fabric of a particular community, its healthcare institutions, and lifestyle.
- Achieve financial success and economic sustainability by managing resource constraints, establishing appropriate incentives, and meeting capital use efficiency targets.
Jeffrey Bernstein formerly served as Senior Vice President of International and Managing Director for China at UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), a $24bn revenue integrated healthcare delivery and financial system with over 100,000 employees worldwide. He spearheaded the $2.2bn cooperation with Wanda Group to develop and operate 500-bed general hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan, China.
Jeffrey Bernstein has bridged markets and cultures between the US and China in the arenas of healthcare, higher education, trade, and policy advocacy.
- He began his international career at McKinsey and Co. in Washington DC (1992), and was involved in the firm’s early-stage growth in Korea and China, including the ramp-up of McKinsey and Co’s offices in Beijing and Shanghai (1995-1998).
- He later invested in and actively managed organizations in multiple industries and sectors, including healthcare, higher education, talent development, and supply chain/import-export trade services.
- He is a certified Independent Director by the Shenzhen Stock Market and served multiple terms as an independent director on the board of Hunan Valin Steel (2005-2008 and 2008-2011), a $10bn revenue major industrial concern listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Arcelor Mittal’s flagship investment in China.
- He served as the founding Managing Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s first university-wide overseas center, the Penn Wharton China Center (2012-2016) in Beijing, which was awarded Penn’s “Project of the Year” by Provost Dr. Vincent Price and enjoyed significant participation across the Health Sciences.
- In his roles with the University of Pennsylvania and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), he developed strategic partnerships and exchanges with China’s top Academic Medical Centers, including Xiangya Hospital, Huaxi Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiaotong University Ruijin Hospital, Fudan University Huashan Hospital, and Peking Union Medical College (PUMC).
- He has represented two US States, Ohio and Nevada, in their efforts to promote mutually beneficial bilateral investment and trade with China in the years following China’s entry into the WTO.
Jeffrey Bernstein has been extremely active in AmChams in China, particularly AmCham China, over many decades.
- He currently serves as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in China Southwest Chapter (Chengdu), where he has led the formation of a vibrant executive community of local business leaders, while also rebuilding a strong working relationship with the Sichuan Provincial and Chengdu Municipal Governments. The Southwest Chapter has enjoyed a net increase of 20 members so far this year and is the fastest-growing part of AmCham China.
- He was appointed Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China Healthcare Committee (Beijing) in 2023 and was involved in forming advocacy coalitions to pursue common interests among American-invested pharmaceuticals, medical device, medical equipment, and healthcare providers.
- He has been elected to multiple terms as Chairman of the Board of Governors for the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (2005 and 2006) and has been very active in advocacy on behalf of American investors in China in Washington DC, Beijing, and at the subnational level over four decades.
Jeffrey Bernstein graduated from the Wharton School with concentrations in Finance and Management (1992). He has developed deep fluency in Mandarin Chinese (HSK Level 6), the most advanced standardized test of Chinese Language Aptitude for non-native Chinese speakers. He is frequently invited as an expert business commentator on Chinese-language television shows produced by the Shanghai Media Group, such as “Brainstorm,” focusing on the US-China Economic relationship.
Throughout his career, as a lifelong student of local culture and languages, he has excelled in building consensus, promoting mutual respect among stakeholders, and most importantly, leading teams to achieve measures of operational excellence. In recognition of his service and positive impact on economic and social development over many decades, Jeffrey Bernstein has been awarded the prestigious Silver Magnolia Award by the Shanghai Municipal Government and the “Modern Citizen Award” by the Chengdu Municipal Government.