ambassador Craig B. Allen

Ambassador Craig B. Allen is President of the US-China Business Council (USCBC). USCBC is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides China-focused advisory service to more than 200 corporations.  Prior to joining USCBC in 2018, Allen was the US ambassador to Brunei Darussalam.

Ambassador Allen’s distinguished career in US public service began at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration where he served as an international economist in the China Office. In 1988, Craig transferred to the American Institute in Taiwan where he served as Director of the American Trade Center in Taipei. In 1992, Craig re-joined the Department of Commerce for a three-year posting in Beijing where he served as Commercial Attaché.

In 1995, Craig and his family transferred from the American Embassy in Beijing to the American Embassy in Tokyo. Initially, Craig served as a Commercial Attaché and was promoted to Deputy Senior Commercial Officer with responsibilities for the entire section.

After a tour at the National Center for Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Allen returned to Beijing in 2002 and was promoted to the Minister Counselor rank of the Senior Foreign Service. He then spent four years in South Africa as Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg.

In 2010, Allen became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. He later became Deputy Assistant Secretary for China and was appointed as U.S. Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam in 2014.

Ambassador Allen received a B.A. in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Michigan. He received a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.