Aimee Barnes is a writer, researcher and strategist based in New York City who specializes in US-China business relations and socioeconomic development. Aimee commenced this focus in 1999 as an undergraduate at Brooklyn College and subsequently moved to Shandong Province in 2001. While residing in China, Aimee worked as an English teacher, textbook editor and commercial actress. Simultaneously, she learned firsthand about foreign investment, business ethics, and the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Upon returning to New York in 2003, Aimee completed a B.A. in Liberal Arts with dual concentrations in Political Science and Creative Writing at The New School for Social Research while consulting businesses, NGOs and government agencies as a project manager and business strategist. She went on to pursue an M.A. in International Affairs with a focus on China’s socioeconomic development at New School University, serving as an academic researcher for the institution while working as a Writer and Business Analyst at Time Inc. and as Junior Board Director at LITE Foundation.

While Aimee has a singular focus- to improve US-China relations-her efforts come in many forms. From volunteer positions with Clinton Global Initiative, India-China Institute, and Asia Society; her consulting work to assist Chinese companies aiming to go global; her blog, which features in-depth posts and interviews with China business specialists; and her continued pursuits in academia, writing and strategy, Aimee aims to transform dialogue on the US-China equation.

Aimee is currently writing a book on China’s shadow economy and applying for doctoral candidacy to continue her research in this field. To learn more about Aimee’s professional background, visit her public profile on Linkedin. You can also follow her on Twitter @aimeenbarnes.