Robert A. Kapp is President of Robert A. Kapp & Associates, Inc., Port Townsend, Washington, USA.

 

He is a graduate of Swarthmore College, and received his doctorate in modern Chinese history from Yale University.

 

From 1970 to 1980, Dr. Kapp served in the History Departments of Rice University and the University of Washington.  He published one scholarly monograph on 20th century Chinese history and several shorter pieces.  He was Editor of The Journal of Asian Studies, 1978-1980.

 

From 1980 to 1987, Dr. Kapp served as the Founding Executive Director of the Washington State China Relations Council in Seattle, resuming his role there from 1992 to 1994.

 

He was President of the Washington Council on International Trade, focused on U.S. and global trade policy issues,1987-94.

 

From 1994 to late 2004, Dr. Kapp served as President of the US-China Business Council, the principal national organization of American firms engaged in trade and investment with the People’s Republic of China.  He played a prominent role in the American debate over China policy, and represented the American business community on numerous occasions, in Washington and China.  He has spoken at numerous conferences in China.

 

Since the completion of his work with the US-China Business Council, Dr. Kapp has offered consulting services to leading American companies.  He has also translated several books from Chinese to English.  He served for many years as Senior Advisor to the China Program of The Carter Center, and currently serves as Special Advisor to the US-China Education Trust.  He is a member of the Board of The Blakemore Foundation, which provides generous grants to distinguished applicants for advanced study of Chinese, Japanese and other Asian languages.

 

Dr. Kapp is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, the National Committee on US-China Relations, and the Washington State China Relations Council.  He has received a number of honors and awards, both for his teaching and for his efforts on behalf of stable and productive U.S.-China relations.  He and his wife make their home in Port Townsend, Washington.