In April 2024, U.S. President Biden signed a foreign aid bill into law, which also includes the forced divestiture of TikTok from its Chinese parent company ByteDance. The controversial TikTok sale or ban draws attention to the deepening tech competition between the U.S. and China. While Chinese companies do manage to find space in U.S. markets and popularity with American consumers, at the same time they raise the suspicions of the U.S. government. TikTok is not the first Chinese tech company to run up against U.S. lawmakers or regulators, but the precedent set by TikTok’s case could impact U.S.-China relations for years to come.  

In an interview recorded March 25, 2024, Wenchi Yu joins us to discuss how Chinese companies can better adapt and localize to the U.S. market and pave the way for healthier U.S.-China business relations. 

Wenchi Yu

Wenchi Yu

Wenchi Yu is a Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and a global affairs advisor and business operator specializing in cross-border and market access strategies between Asia and the United States. She is also an international affairs commentator for TVBS News – a Taipei-headquartered media outlet with mostly Chinese-language viewers globally. Her business experiences include high-growth global technology companies where she advises on public policy, social impact, and public relations, as well as Goldman Sachs where she headed strategic philanthropy and stakeholder engagement in Asia. Before joining the private sector, she worked in the US Department of State and US Congress.