James CHAU

James Chau is President of the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF). Appointed in 2023, he leads a global platform for people-to-people engagement that uses dialogue, education, and culture to build understanding between nations. The Foundation was established in 2008 by the Honorable Tung Chee-hwa, First Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

A longtime advocate for public health and development, he has served since 2016 as a World Health Organisation Goodwill Ambassador and was previously the inaugural UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador in China, appointed in 2009. In these honorary roles, he partners with United Nations agencies to advance their mandates and support the Sustainable Development Goals under the UN’s 2030 agenda. He speaks regularly at the UN General Assembly in New York, including its high-level meetings where he has worked alongside heads of state and government on HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and antimicrobial resistance.

He has developed an international career across broadcast journalism, bringing human stories to wide audiences and convening conversations with leaders who shape public life. He has interviewed numerous public figures, including Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Muhammad Yunus, Christine Lagarde, and Elton John, among others. He wrote and directed End of the Earth, a documentary on Jewish refugees who found sanctuary in wartime Shanghai, and appeared in the film Crazy About Tiffany’s. In 2019, he was appointed Tiffany & Co.’s Cultural Ambassador and narrated its global exhibition, Vision and Virtuosity.

Born in London to parents from Hong Kong and Indonesia, he brings a cross-cultural perspective to his work at the intersection of media, diplomacy, and international exchange. He is a recipient of a U.S. National Press Foundation Fellowship and serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council, focusing on how trade and investment can support a more stable and connected world.