As the second-ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, Senator Baucus has also been a leading advocate of preserving China’s Normal Trade Relations (formerly known as MFN) tariff status while pursuing a results-oriented policy on trade, human rights, and other concerns in Sino-American relations.

The Senator has had a distinguished career in Congress, serving as a representative of Montana from 1974-1978. He was elected to the Senate in 1978 and has been reelected in 1984, 1990 and 1996. The senator holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a law degree from Stanford University.

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
(D-California)
Senator Feinstein joined the Senate in 1992, when she was elected to fill the remaining two years of then-Senator Pete Wilson’s term. She was elected to her first six-year term in 1994 and serves on the judiciary, foreign relations, and rules administration committees in the Senate. She pioneered the establishment of "sister cities" with major trading cities in Asia while mayor of San Francisco.

Feinstein joined the board in order to "develop a focus on the key issues in the U.S.-China relationship." She further remarked, "The foundation can play a key role in exposing U.S. policymakers to the people, perspectives and information necessary to make informed choices on important issues in U.S.-China relations, such as Taiwan, human rights, nuclear proliferation, intellectual property rights and trade. By facilitating exchanges and discussions between and among American and Chinese policy makers, academics and other specialists, the foundation can contribute to increased understanding between the two countries and a consensus-building dialogue on how best to approach this most important of relationships."

The Honorable Barbara Hackman Franklin
Secretary Franklin served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce and was the highest ranking woman in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.  As Secretary of Commerce, she played a pivotal role in U.S.-China relations through her focus on market-opening initiatives in China and other countries that led to a substantial increase in American exports. Her historic mission to China in 1992, at the request of President Bush, normalized commercial relations between the two countries and removed one of the sanctions – the ban on ministerial contact – that the U.S. had imposed on China following the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989.

In her service to five U.S. presidents, Ms. Franklin has held numerous positions in the area of economic and trade policy, including four terms on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations and as an Alternate Representative and Public Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly.

Currently, Secretary Franklin is President and Chief Executive Officer of Barbara Franklin Enterprises, a private investment and consulting firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.  She provides counsel to American companies operating in foreign markets, notably China.  She has served on the boards of fourteen public companies and is currently on the board of Aetna, Inc. and The Dow Chemical Company, as well as the Washington Mutual Investors Fund.

Senator Chuck Hagel
(R- Nebraska)
Elected to the Senate in 1996, Senator Hagel currently serves on five committees, including a Foreign Relations committee in which he is a Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and on the Banking Committee where he serves as a Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance.

Hagel has served as the Deputy Whip since his election, is the recipient of many awards; including the 2001 Horatio Alger Award, and has been named one of the "Congressional Power Players" by Congressional Quarterly.

Prior to his election to the U.S Senate, he served as president and CEO of a number of different companies and organizations. He is a the Vietnam War veteran and has been appointed Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration by Ronald Reagan in 1981.

Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig
General Haig has dedicated himself to improved U.S. relations abroad with a distinguished career, at one time serving as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during the Ford Administration. In government, General Haig served in a number of capacities, including White House chief of staff under President Nixon and secretary of state during the Reagan Administration. Currently, General Haig is Chairman of his Washington, D.C.-based firm, World-Wide Associates, Inc. He is an active member of the boards of numerous businesses, educational, and cultural associations.

General Haig’s first experience with China came in January 1972, when he helped lay the groundwork for the historic Shanghai Communiqué. His subsequent activities related to China include: Editorial advisor to the U.S. publishers of The People’s Republic of China’s Official Guide: America Business & Industry, and Honorary Senior Advisor to the China Ocean Shipping Group. In the November 1996 edition of The International Economy, General Haig contends that "in the future China’s relationship with the United States may well be the pivotal determinant of international peace and stability."

Dr. Nathaniel Thayer
Professor and Director of Asian Studies at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of John Hopkins University.

Dr. John Young
Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies, Seton Hall University.