As we are living through a historic pandemic and ever more turbulent U.S.-China relations, we revisit a conversation recorded at our last public lecture right before the lockdown. 21st Century China Board Chair James Kralik interviews investor and best-selling author Weijian Shan about his memoir of living through the trauma and turmoil of Mao’s Cultural Revolution to become one of Asia’s most successful financiers, and how to move forward on constructive U.S.-China relations.

Watch Shan’s full presentation for the So Kwan Lok Distinguished Lecture series on china.ucsd.edu

Weijian Shan is chairman and CEO of PAG, a private equity firm. Prior to PAG, he was a partner of TPG and co-managing partner of TPG Asia. He led a number of landmark transactions including the acquisitions of Korea First Bank and China’s Shenzhen Development Bank, both of which made his investors billions of dollars in profits and were made into case studies of Harvard Business School. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco.

James Kralik is the board chair for the 21st Century China Center. He is Managing Director of Linden Street Capital Ltd. and a Director of Milestone Capital Investment Holdings Ltd. Over the last fifteen years, these investment vehicles have been involved with a number of leading Chinese businesses in the alternative energy, advertising media, and consumer sectors. Based in Shanghai, Kralik began his career at McKinsey & Company and has lived and worked in China for nearly thirty years.

Editor/Host: Samuel Tsoi, UC San Diego  
Music: Dave Liang/Shanghai Restoration Project

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