Meet China Briefing

Posted by Reading Time: 8 minutes

Sept. 29 – China Briefing has been publishing China business law, tax, compliance and operational material about doing business in China since 1999. It is one of the longest running China business web sites, with a daily regulatory news service, a popular monthly magazine focusing on the technical legal and financial issues foreign investors face, and a well-received series of technical and regional guides to China which are distributed worldwide by Springer, the academic publishing house.

China Briefing is part of the Asia Briefing stable of titles, established by Chris Devonshire-Ellis in 1999 and which now includes similar titles in India, Russia, Vietnam, Mongolia and Emerging Asia. It also includes the cultural web sites China Expat and Mongolia Expat. Asia Briefing is part of the Dezan Shira Group, which includes the professional services firm, Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice – which deals exclusively with foreign direct investment law, tax and compliance matters on behalf of multinational investors in Asia – maintains twelve China offices, five in India, two in Vietnam, and one each in Hong Kong and Singapore. The firm contributes extensively to the China Briefing and other Asia Briefing titles.

What is not so well known are the team and individuals behind China Briefing. They are in fact all based in China, and in this introduction we present to you the staff responsible for making it all happen.

For questions, interviews, or articles please contact us via editor@china-briefing.com.

Editorial Team

Christian Fleming – Managing Editor

A native of Nantucket, Massachusetts in the northeastern United States, Christian joined China Briefing in 2009 and heads the Asia Briefing team. He graduated from Bates College, Maine in 2008 with degrees in Economics and East Asian Studies and has studied Chinese at Nanjing University and Shanghai Ligong University. He is based in China Briefing’s Shanghai office along with the rest of the editorial team.

 

Samantha Jones – Managing Editor

Samantha was born in Washington D.C. and is now in her fourth year in China. She graduated from Wellesley College, conducted Chinese graduate studies courses at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, and worked at a Shanghai-based legal and operational consulting firm. She edits magazines and book titles for China Briefing.

Eunice Ku – Technical Editor

Eunice is from Hong Kong and completed her undergraduate degree at Emory University in the southern U.S. state of Georgia and received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 2008. Prior to working at China Briefing, she worked as an associate at a law firm in Shanghai. Eunice is responsible for the editorial content of our technical legal and tax guides in addition to research for legal articles for our online section. She speaks English, Mandarin, and Cantonese fluently.

Vivian Ni – Editor

Vivian obtained her master’s degree in international commerce from the University of Korea in 2009. Before joining China Briefing, she worked as a researcher for a Korea-based research institute and later as a brand image supervisor for an education consulting company. Fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, English, and conversational in Korean, Vivian regularly contributes articles to all of our Asia Briefing web sites and has particular involvement concerning China’s finance industry.

Julia Gu – Assistant Editor

Julia grew up in Kuytun in Xinjiang Province, home to 47 ethnic groups. A graduate of Shanghai International Studies University with majors in Russian and English, Julia speaks Chinese, English, Russian, Kazakh and Turkish, and is an avid reader of business news, nonfiction and literature. She previously held positions in international relations at Sinopec and ENDEV, an international investment/business development firm. She writes articles and reports for the Asia Briefing web sites.

Martin Kuroczik – German Editor

Martin is a native of Germany and is in charge of editing and sourcing content for the German language edition of China Briefing magazine as well as translating the news web site. He also works closely with the German Desk of Dezan Shira & Associates. He studied in the UK and graduated with a BA in Economic and Social History from Leicester University and with an MA in International Political Economy from Leeds University.

Design Team

Chris Wei – Head Designer

Chris Wei is a native of Shanghai and has been with Asia Briefing since early 2005. She is in charge of the design and layout of all Asia Briefing publications and advertisements as well as the corporate identity and brand image for Dezan Shira & Associates. She graduated from Jiaotong University with a bachelor’s degree in art design and attended the Shanghai College of Fine Arts. She is skilled in color illustrations, graphic design, and photography.

Kaushal Raj Subba – Senior Web Developer

Kaushal was born in Nepal and holds a bachelor’s degree in business studies and completed his software engineering in 2004. He has been with Asia Briefing since early 2007 and his primary role is developing and maintaining the needs of our entire network of websites. As of now, he has gained over seven years of experience in the field of web development and is constantly updating himself with the latest industry trends.

September Wang – Designer

Receiving her degree in graphic design from Hunan Hengyang Normal University, September is our lead designer in Beijing. Assisting in the design of Asia Briefing’s well-known magazines and books, she has resided in Beijing for the last four years, but is originally from Yulin in China’s southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. She is skilled in layout and graphic design.

Regular Contributors from Dezan Shira & Associates

Chris Devonshire-Ellis – Founder and Principal

Chris is both the founder of Dezan Shira & Associates and the publisher of China Briefing. He has lived and worked in China for over 25 years, including time in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, and previously worked for several law firms in Asia. He has been based in Beijing since 2003. His text provides an operational overview combined with practical expertise in dealing with China business, and the impact of legal and tax regulations upon operations in China. He is a Vice Chair for the UNDP business advisory council for Northeast Asia. Having additionally established the firm in India, together with the accompanying India Briefing brand, he is one of the few China commentators to possess an in-depth understanding of China, India and emerging Asia and is a regularly sought after commentator on China and Emerging Asia issues. He is a long term member of the Beijing Capital Club and the Royal Overseas League. He became a Baron earlier this year.

Sabrina Zhang – National Tax Partner

Sabrina is the national tax partner of Dezan Shira & Associates and is based in Beijing. Sabrina has over 16 years of experience in accounting, auditing and tax advisory services to both international businesses in China and large domestic corporations. Her bachelor’s degree is in Accounting, and her master’s degree is in Commerce from the University of New South Wales, Australia. Sabrina qualified as a Chinese Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1997, and she joined CPA Australia as an associate member in 2005. She comments on tax and audit matters for China Briefing.

Adam Livermore – Regional Manager

Adam joined Dezan Shira & Associates in 2006 after working for GMAC Commercial Mortgage in Tokyo, Japan. He holds a BSc in business studies and economics from the University of Sheffield. Based in Dalian, Adam oversees a wide range of projects implemented across China’s northeast region and Shandong Province. Recently, he is focusing on expanding the firm’s involvement in the payroll outsourcing sector. Adam is originally from London and speaks, reads and writes Japanese and Chinese in addition to his native English.

Richard Cant – Director of Legal and Accounting Services

Richard is an Australian lawyer/CPA who has worked in business and commercial consulting both in Australia and China for the past 20 years. He was previously a partner at Ernst & Young and holds an LLB from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Law from the University of Sydney. Richard is a director of legal services for Dezan Shira & Associates in Shanghai and contributes both legal and accounting content to the news section and magazines at China Briefing.

Cory Lam – Business Development Associate

Cory works with the Dezan Shira & Associates business development team in Shanghai and advises clients in the Yangtze River Delta region, particularly regarding accounting and tax structures in China. She received her bachelor education from Bristol University in the United Kingdom, majoring in mathematics with physics, and worked as a finance analyst with Lloyds TSB (UK) prior to her move to China. Cory is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese and she is a frequent contributor on China Briefing.

Getting China Briefing to You

Sam Woollard – Group Marketing Director, Asia

Originally from the UK, Sam has been in China since 2003. Having joined the firm in 2007, Sam plays a dual role in directing the Asia marketing operations for both Asia Briefing and Dezan Shira & Associates. With specialties in marketing, public relations, and advertising, Sam has worked in a range of industries including airlines, international trade and development, and business advisory services. He is based in Beijing along with the rest of the marketing team.

James Yang Du – Marketing Manager, China

With an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Oxford, James brings his digital marketing expertise to Asia Briefing. Fluent in both Mandarin and English, James has extensive experience in multi-lingual negotiations in the United States and China. Before joining Asia Briefing in Beijing, James worked as the digital marketing manager at a multinational media company in Shanghai.

Jessica Tou – Senior Marketing Executive, China and International Relations

Born in New York and raised in North Carolina, Jessica received her degree from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In her role as senior marketing executive, Jessica is responsible for establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships with the global business and government community. Fluent in Mandarin and English, she has also worked closely with the United Nations Development Program in China.

Nicole Li – Online Marketing Executive, China and International Relations

A native Beijinger, Nicole joined Dezan Shira & Associates in 2007. In her role as the online marketing executive, Nicole manages both the Dezan Shira & Associates and Asia Briefing web sites and e-marketing campaigns. With a degree in information technology from the Macau University of Science and Technology, Nicole specializes in the application of electronic technology.

To date, China Briefing has produced over 100 issues of China Briefing Magazine, a series of China law, tax and regional guides, many of them now in their fourth and fifth editions, and a popular online daily update and commentary service.

We also provide a complimentary weekly email update, and hold many technical and social events throughout China and overseas. Why not participate?

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To view all current and archived issues of China Briefing Magazine, please click the appropriate language as follows:

To visit the Asia Briefing Bookstore and browse our publications, please click here for our China legal and tax guides, and please click here for our China regional business guides.