Chinese-American advises Obama

SOPHIA YAO， a Chinese-American with a distinguished resume as a former U.S. beauty queen and a Wall Street financier， worked with global investment guru George Soros in an eight-member team advising Barack Obama on his maiden Asian tour as U.S. president.

Obama’s Asian visit focused on China， with his China visit being the third and longest leg of his four-nation tour. Yao， although not as high-profile as Soros， is unique in the team as a Chinese-American who knows the inner workings of Chinese politics and business.

Yao was the only Asian in the team that advised Obama in climate change， trade， finance and other issues during his visit.

Yao was born in Tiantai County， Taizhou City in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang in 1968. Her father， who moved from Sanmen， a neighboring county to Tiantai， said she started learning characters in kindergarten and was very diligent and quick-witted. She finished her middle school in Tiantai in 1984 and received her college education at the Dalian Foreign Languages University， majoring in international finance.

She began her American dream in 1989 when she quit her “gold rice bowl” job at the China Construction Bank Zhejiang Branch to study at the University of Virginia in 1989. She went on to earn a master’s degree in economics at New York University in 1994. After her graduation she became the Asian representative of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

In 1995， she participated in the World Women’s Congress and was crowned Miss International USA. In a venture that would later prove her beauty is not just skin deep， she started up her first business.

In 2007， Yao and her husband established AE Capital Partnership LLC.， which now operates oil and resource renewal businesses and weilds capital of US$1.55 billion. She’s also an executive director at the Franklin international financial consortium which manages US$7.3 trillion in assets.

According to Yao， with the help of ancient Chinese philosophy， companies she has managed have emerged from the financial crisis stronger. “The Chinese characters Wei (crisis) and Ji (opportunities)， which means crisis when combined， are adverse but can be interchangeable， ancient Chinese pundits told us，” Yao said.

She cashed out from venture investments in 2007 when the world economy was at its peak， but acquired a number of undervalued firms as the U.S. economy hit the trough last year， foreseeing “opportunities” amid a crisis. As a result， these companies saw their asset values rise amid the economic downturn， she said.

Her business achievements have helped her rub shoulders with U.S. officials and politicians. She was invited to attend the inauguration ceremonies of former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush， as well as President Obama. Yao， who sees herself as a link between China and the Untied States， presses for improved Sino-U.S. relations whenever she meets members of the U.S. Congress.

“I was born in China and have achieved some kind of success on Wall Street，” Yao said， referring to why she was selected by Obama for his visit. “President Obama lived in Asia in his childhood. He has an Asian complex，” she said.

Trying to strike a balance in serving both her birth and adopted countries， Yao advocated a win-win situation that will lead to long-term mutual benefits for both China and the United States. “The United States， as the largest developed country， and China， the biggest developing country， have complementary advantages. Being an adviser to the U.S. president enables me to contribute to the friendship， cooperation and peace between the two countries，” she said.

“I’m confident that， by joining hands to tackle problems facing the two countries， China and the United States will have a better tomorrow.”