In The News
Quoted in The Wall Street Journal: Honeywell’s Formula for Success in China
Honeywell was a pioneer in a localization approach that has since become something of a template for a number of other multinationals doing business in China, according to James McGregor, the head of consulting firm APCO Worldwide’s China business…. It is becoming harder for multinationals to avoid controversy. “What looks…
Quoted in New York Times: China’s Leaders Are Having Fun With Us. Who Can Blame Them?
“Reformers in China carefully monitored the original TPP negotiations with the hope that China joining the TPP could lead to domestic reforms,’’ said James McGregor, the chairman of the consultancy APCO Worldwide, Greater China. “Those days are gone. In its new bid to join, China will likely try to use the…
Quoted in Management Today: “What China Wants”
In practice, “dual circulation” seems aimed just as much at opening the door to foreign companies in order to make them dependent on China, increasing Beijing’s leverage over the rest of the world. “China aims to make international companies allies in pushing back against their own governments’ anti-China actions,” says…
Quoted in Bloomberg: “Biden’s Sharp-Elbows China Policy Hints at More Trump-Style Pain”
“America’s leading companies must be in the China market and have access to Chinese innovation in order to maintain global leadership,” said Jim McGregor, China chairman of APCO worldwide. “They can’t be forced into a choice between the U.S. or China. They may have to create structural workarounds with spin-offs…
Authored Piece in LinkedIn Pulse: “The US Should Welcome Chinese Students With Open Arms”
I have had the privilege during my decades in China to spend lots of time with students. I also have interacted with many Chinese students on U.S. campuses during a time when I was advising a student group that focused on creating activities on dozens of U.S. campuses that facilitated…
Quoted in The Wall Street Journal: “H&M Is Erased From Chinese E-Commerce Over Xinjiang Stance”
“I think we will see more of this taking place as China seeks to use commercial pressure to get foreign governments to tone down and back off,” Mr. McGregor added. https://www.wsj.com/articles/h-m-is-erased-from-chinese-e-commerce-over-xinjiang-stance-11616695377
Interviewed in AmChamChina: “Past, Present, and Future: McGregor Shares His Perspectives on US-China Relations”
James McGregor, the recipient of the most recent AmCham China Pioneer award, spoke to the AmCham China Quarterly about what it means to him to receive the award, his involvement in AmCham China over the years, the current state of US-China relations, and what he’s keeping an eye on for 2021. https://www.amchamchina.org/past-present-and-future-mcgregor-shares-his-perspectives-on-us-china-relations/
Quoted in Bloomberg: “Elon Musk Loves China, and China Loves Him Back—for Now”
Under Xi’s economic strategy, “foreign companies are going to have pretty good opportunities, but they have to be aware that the ultimate plan is for all the advanced technologies to be Chinese,” says James McGregor, the chairman for Greater China at government relations firm Apco Worldwide. “I hope that Elon…
Quoted in The Atlantic: “The Undoing of China’s Economic Miracle”
Thus Xi’s priorities have turned inward. “He is feeling under siege,” James McGregor, the chairman of the China arm of the consulting firm APCO Worldwide, told me. Chinese officials “are eliminating all vulnerabilities to the outside world, or reducing them as much as they can.” https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/01/xi-jinping-china-economy-jack-ma/617552/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Quoted in The Wire China: “The Red Capitalist”
“The reason why Jack Ma and others could build enormous Internet companies is because the Party had no idea what they were doing,” says McGregor. “They became famous globally and made China look very good, but then the Party had to figure out how to get their arms around them.”…
Featured in The New York Times DealBook debate: “How to Reset the Relationship Between the U.S. and China”
In describing the state of the play, “it’s American underperformance versus Chinese overreach,” said James McGregor of APCO Worldwide. “China went too far and even pushed business away, and we have just been pretty lame here in investing in ourselves.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/business/dealbook/us-china-relations-debate.html
Authored Piece for the Hinrich Foundation: “China’s dual circulation policy narrows foreign business opportunities”
“The details of the Fifth Plenum in Beijing are important for diplomats, academics and China hands. But foreign companies should focus on the outlines of the 14th five-year plan that are emerging, in particular the impact of China’s “dual circulation” policy.” https://www.hinrichfoundation.com/research/article/us-china/dual-circulation-foreign-companies/