CA-China Trade and Investment Office Hires Diane Long as Executive Director

Positioning California to attract a growing share of China’s massive foreign investment pool and bolstering California-China trade, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., the Bay Area Council and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today announced the hiring of Diane Long as the Executive Director of the new California-China Office of Trade and Investment.

“California and China have maintained a robust trade and investment relationship but the potential to expand that connectivity is limitless,” said the Governor’s Senior Jobs Advisor Mike Rossi. “Diane will focus on creating business-to-business connections between California and China to ensure that the Golden State takes full advantage of every international business opportunity.”

The California-China Office of Trade and Investment will serve as a hub for California companies interested in entering or expanding in China – the world’s second largest economy – and Chinese companies seeking investment opportunities in California – the world’s ninth largest economy by GDP.

“As a native Californian who has lived over 28 years in China, I am honored to have the opportunity to make a contribution to this critical cross-Pacific effort,” said Diane Long.  “California has a vast array of products, from food and wine, to fashion and technology, and the timing for expanding the China market for those products could not be better.  As the people and companies of Chinese grow their income, California products and services are poised to make big inroads to the market, as well as attract Chinese investment.  This is an exciting time to play a role in the history of China and California.”

Diane Long was previously a managing director at Xanadu Enterprise Shanghai Ltd, a bilingual, bicultural China strategic market entry firm that assists companies entering the Chinese market.  She is a past Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and recently led lead the creation and execution of the first annual “California Week Shanghai 2013;” a platform for building recognition of the California brand in China.

“Diane has a perfect skill set and past experience to help usher in an exciting new era of cooperation and partnership between two of the world’s largest economies,” Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, said. “With Diane in place, and with further hires coming, this office is ready to do business.”

Diane worked at UBS International, a China-based management consultancy firm, and led Adidas’ post-acquisition of Reebok’s global apparel operations following her role as China country manager.  She spent ten years with Liz Claiborne as vice president of Liz Claiborne and general manager of its China operations.  In the 1990’s she established the China office for Pacific Rim Resources, a boutique market entry consulting firm from San Francisco, assisting Fortune 1000 companies entering the China market.

“California’s office in China is part of a broad effort to increase California’s bi-lateral trade and investment globally,” said GO-Biz Director Kish Rajan. “We are excited that Diane will lead our team in China, providing assistance to California companies accessing the Chinese market and likewise for Chinese investors that want to finance California projects.”

Diane has been a leader in the non-profit arena having co-founded as well as chaired several business, educational, and philanthropic organizations.  She was recently elected president of the Stanford Club of Shanghai. Diane is the secretary of the board of Concordia International School Shanghai.  She is currently lead director for a medical philanthropy which funds medical support services for economically disadvantaged children and adults suffering from heart disease, leprosy and cancer.  She is a co- founder and a board member of Active Kidz Shanghai. Diane is a graduate of Stanford University and is married with three sons.

The office opening was made possible in part by AB 2012, authored by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) and signed last October by the Governor. This bill allowed GO-Biz to establish a public-private partnership to create state trade and investment offices.

The California-China Office of Trade and Investment is California’s central vehicle for cultivating transpacific trade and investment relations between the state and the People’s Republic of China, California’s third largest trade partner.  It officially was opened by California Governor Jerry Brown in Shanghai during his Gubernatorial Trade Mission to China in April 2013, and is the state’s first since 2003.  For more information, please contact the California-China Office of Trade and Investment at CAChinaTrade@bayareacouncil.org.