Joel Backaler

About Joel Backaler

Joel Backaler is author of China Goes West: Everything You Need to Know about Chinese Companies Going Global (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). He is also an Associate Vice President at Frontier Strategy Group and is a member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. His work specializes in bridging the gap between Western and Chinese businesses, serving as an intermediary and advisor to both.

Backaler previously worked for Atos Consulting’s China state-owned enterprise practice in Beijing. In 2008, he founded TheChinaObserver.com, an award-winning platform focused on Chinese outbound investment. His writing regularly appears in major international media outlets including BusinessWeek, Forbes, BBC, and the Financial Times. Backaler, a fluent Mandarin-speaker and Fulbright Scholar, has worked and lived in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and Singapore. He currently lives in Washington D.C. with his wife Qian.