Skip to main content
21st Century China Center China Center
  1. HOME
  2. Policy
  3. China Forum
  4. Participants
  5. Craig Allen

Craig Allen

Senior Counselor, The Cohen Group

Craig Allen
Ambassador Craig Allen joined The Cohen Group in 2025 after serving from 2018 to 2024 as the president of the U.S.-China Business Council, a private, nonpartisan and nonprofit organization representing over 200 American companies doing business in China. Before joining the council, Allen had a long, distinguished career in U.S. public service. He began at the Department of Commerce in 1985 and worked early on as an international economist in the International Trade Administration’s China Office. He later held commercial roles in Taipei, Beijing and Tokyo, eventually rising to the rank of minister counselor of the Senior Foreign Service. From 2000 to 2002, he worked on APEC summits while based in Seattle. After another stint in Beijing, he later served in South Africa and as deputy assistant secretary for Asia and then China. In 2014, he was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Brunei, where he served until 2018. Allen received a bachelor’s degree in political science and Asian studies from the University of Michigan. He also holds a master of science in foreign service from Georgetown University.