Pioneering Progress: Roberta Lipson on Leadership, Advocacy, and Innovation

Roberta Lipson: With only a few months remaining in the year when I took over, my primary focus was on ensuring continuity and safeguarding ongoing board initiatives during the leadership transition. I also prioritized driving membership engagement. To this end, we established functional Board Committees to ensure proper organizational governance and oversight, while fostering increased engagement, transparency, and continuity for initiatives that often span board terms.

In the past two months, we formed four committees: Finance and Audit, Compensation, Membership, and Events. These committees are responsible for strategic and policy recommendations to the Board and for supporting staff work. Their members bring invaluable expertise in their respective fields. These functional committees complement our existing industry-specific Committees and Cooperation Programs.

Roberta Lipson: The past few years have presented no shortage of challenges, including the tense US-China relationship and the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we’ve also celebrated significant achievements.

During the pandemic, we supported our community by organizing a charter flight for those unable to return to China and providing frequent information sessions about evolving policies, testing, and vaccine availability.

Our advocacy efforts have resulted in tangible outcomes, such as improved IP protection, the extension of IIT tax policies for expats, faster approvals for imported pharmaceuticals, and the liberalization of foreign investment in financial services and healthcare.

I’m particularly proud of our geographic expansion, with active chapters in Northeast China, Central China, Tianjin, and Southwest China. Additionally, we finalized a revised constitution approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, reflecting the realities of our organization and ensuring compliance with current laws.

Looking ahead, AmCham China can play a pivotal role in fostering educational and cultural exchanges, including supporting the US and China’s goal of bringing 50,000 young people to China. By encouraging dialogue and mutual understanding, we can help build a foundation for future collaboration.

Roberta Lipson: We are fortunate to have a highly skilled government affairs and policy team, supported by the expertise of our membership. Over the past year, we’ve held over 100 meetings with Chinese officials, including 39 at the ministerial level or above. We also spent a week in Washington, DC, engaging with congressional representatives, think tanks, and executive branch members during our annual DC Doorknock trip.

Advocacy remains crucial in today’s climate, given the complexities of the bilateral relationship. We’ve successfully lobbied for increased government-to-government engagement, and the results are evident in the recent rise in cabinet-level visits.

At the subnational level, we’re seeing growing enthusiasm among members. Collaborative visits with the US Commerce Department and local consulates have been highly effective in elevating our members’ profiles regionally.

Roberta Lipson: I strive to lead by example. At United Family, women hold many leadership roles, and I actively mentor women within the company and at Tsinghua University. I also mentor AmCham China staff and hope to expand these programs further.

Additionally, I’ve worked to raise awareness of women’s health as a critical component of employee wellness programs. To fully benefit from the talents of women, we must address the unique needs of female biology and support shared parenthood responsibilities.

Roberta Lipson: United Family Healthcare has always been proud to be a leader in innovating healthcare services in China. We like to think that some of our innovations have encouraged emulation in the industry including in the public sector. We have pioneered many firsts in China, including pro-active preventive care, continuity of care across outpatient and inpatient settings, a common nationwide standard for service, as well as medical quality and safety, pain control in family centered childbirth, multidisciplinary consultation for patients with serious or complex disease, international referrals and access to leading edge drugs and technologies in the Greater Bay Area facilities. We are proud that some of these practices have stimulated reform and improvement in the public sector, thus multiplying our impact. Even as the public sector continues to upgrade its services, we continue to scour the world for the best therapies, and the newest innovations for our patients.

As China’s population ages, we are also focused on diseases of aging, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Recently, we have been working on a comprehensive package to help people extend their health span as their chronological age increases through pro-active interventions, so stay tuned for some very exciting announcements!

Roberta Lipson: The pandemic taught us all the importance of being prepared. We gained significant insights into preparedness and infection control during the SARS epidemic, and these lessons proved invaluable when faced with COVID-19. This experience highlighted the necessity of retaining and applying knowledge from past challenges.

Going forward, we will continue to prioritize preparedness—not only by maintaining emergency stocks of medicines and consumables but also through ongoing staff training to ensure readiness for future crises. The next pandemic will come, and we must be ready to pivot and respond effectively. Beyond health emergencies, these lessons also emphasize the importance of being prepared for economic and geopolitical challenges.

Roberta Lipson: I believe both AmCham China and UFH offer significant value to our stakeholder communities. I hope that both organizations can continue to be responsive to those we serve.

For UFH, this means being prepared to serve our community—whether during major events like COVID-19 and SARS or addressing the challenges of an aging population. For the Chamber, it means supporting our members as they navigate the shifting economic landscape and changes in the US-China bilateral relationship.
I hope I can help both organizations stay young and nimble and remain responsible to our stakeholders through proper governance.

Roberta Lipson: Over the past 30+ years, China’s healthcare landscape has undergone significant changes due to transformative government policies aimed at improving access, affordability, and quality.

More recently, initiatives like the Healthy China 2030 program have emphasized preventive care, chronic disease management, and integrating AI and digital health. United Family has always been proud to innovate in these areas. Since our founding, we have shared our experience with the wider medical community while continuing to develop patient-centered approaches and cutting-edge therapies. As China’s first international-standard private healthcare provider, we set benchmarks for quality through accreditation processes and introduced multidisciplinary care teams.

Roberta Lipson: When we applied for permission to open our first hospital in the 1990s, there was no precedent for high-end private healthcare in China, let alone foreign-invested, for-profit healthcare services. Together with the regulators, we had to “cross the river while feeling the stones.”

With each subsequent hospital, it became somewhat easier as we built credibility in the market and with the government. However, as foreign-invested enterprises, we still faced challenges, such as local equity requirements and limitations on participating in certain types of scientific research and gene-based therapies. Thanks in part to our advocacy work, recent reforms now allow wholly owned foreign hospitals and increased access to genetic therapies for local private and joint-venture hospitals.

Roberta Lipson: I felt very honored to receive this award. When you are busy building a business responsible for hundreds of thousands of patients, there’s little time to stop and reflect on successes. I was overwhelmed by the recognition from the community at that time.

I’m also humbled by the great work of the Pioneer Award winners who have come after me, and I continue to be inspired by their contributions.

Roberta Lipson: The most important lesson I’ve learned from my parents is to “leave the world net better than we found it.” That value has always guided my efforts.

Community is vital to society. We can accomplish so much more together than individually. United Family and AmCham China are successful not because of any one person but because of the strength of our teams and our shared belief in the importance of community.