Weijian Shan

The native form of this personal name is Shan Weijian. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Weijian Shan
單偉建
Born1954 (age 69–70)
Beijing, China
Alma mater
TitleExecutive Chairman, PAG

Weijian Shan (Chinese: 單偉建; pinyin: Shàn Wěijiàn; born 1954) is a Chinese economist, businessman, and author based in Hong Kong. He is the Executive Chairman of PAG, a leading alternative investment firm focused on the Asia Pacific region.[1] He currently serves as a Trustee of The British Museum[2] and as an independent director of Alibaba Group.[3]

Shan authored Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America (2019), a memoir recounting his experience during the Cultural Revolution.[4] He also published Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea’s Most Iconic Bank (2021)[5] and Money Machine: A Trailblazing American Venture in China (2023).[6]

Biography

Born in 1954 and raised in Beijing, Shan grew up in the midst of the Cultural Revolution. In 1969, when Mao Zedong closed all universities and dispatched youngsters to the countryside, Shan was sent to Inner Mongolia where he would spend 6 years in the Gobi Desert. He returned to Beijing in 1975 and enrolled at the Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade (now University of International Business and Economics) where he would study English.[7]

Shan later moved to the United States as part of the first cohort of mainland Chinese students studying abroad after the Cultural Revolution. He earned an MBA from the University of San Francisco before continuing his studies at the University of California, Berkeley where he would earn a M.A. and PhD.[8]

In 1987, Shan joined the World Bank in Washington DC as an investment officer.[9] He served as an assistant professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for 6 years, where he founded the China Economic Review.[10]

Shan held various positions at J.P. Morgan between 1993 and 1998, eventually rising to become a Managing Director. Shortly thereafter, he became a co-managing partner at Newbridge Capital, later renamed TPG Asia, and a partner of TPG.[11]

Shan is a member of the Board of Trustees of The British Museum and an independent director of the Alibaba Group. Shan is a frequent contributor to journals and newspapers. His commentaries have been featured prominently in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs and others. His memoir, Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America, was published by Wiley in January 2019 and became a national bestseller in February 2019. Shan is also the author of Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea’s Most Iconic Bank (2021) and Money Machine: A Trailblazing American Venture in China (2023).

Books

Other publications

Date Title Publication
March 29, 2023 The edge humans have over AI? Use your imagination South China Morning Post
October 6, 2022 In Search of Value Money Games
September 29, 2022 In Pursuit of Learning Out of the Gobi
July 12, 2022 Hong Kong must ditch its damaging Covid-19 hotel quarantine policy to restore the economy South China Morning Post
January 9, 2022 Beijing and Taipei are united - in their South China Sea claims South China Morning Post
June 1, 2021 "Americans Don’t Know How Capitalist China Is" Harvard Business Review
April 14, 2021 Xinjiang: what the West doesn't tell you about China's war on terror South China Morning Post
October 20, 2020 Hong Kong is a Free Society South China Morning Post
May 18, 2020 The Fable of the Chinese Whistleblower Project Syndicate
January 13, 2020 A Delicate Truce in the US-Chinese Trade War Foreign Affairs
November 1, 2019 The Unwinnable Trade War Foreign Affairs
September 17, 2019 Hong Kong protesters should be more realistic in their goals Financial Times
January 26, 2019 China Turned Upside Down Foreign Affairs
January 7, 2019 American Companies Need Chinese Consumers The New York Times
August 14, 2018 Both Sides Can Win the Trade War The Wall Street Journal
July 17, 2018 China can bear more trade pain than America Financial Times
February 12, 2009 The Seoul Solution to the Banking Crisis The Wall Street Journal
February 5, 2009 I Bought a Bad Bank. Here is How the United States Should, Too. Foreign Affairs
November 16, 2006 China roaring The Economist
September 1, 2006 The World Bank's China Delusions The Wall Street Journal
October 17, 2005 Will China's Banking Reform Succeed? The Wall Street Journal
June 23, 2005 China's Yuan is Overvalued The Wall Street Journal
May 13, 2005 Taiwan must build bridges to China Financial Times
August 18, 2004 Focus on Core Competency The Wall Street Journal
March 19, 2004 China Must Cool Down to Sustain Growth The Wall Street Journal
February 13, 2004 How to Fight Corruption in China The Wall Street Journal
October 7, 2003 Living on Borrowed Growth The Wall Street Journal
September 4, 2003 Turning China's Growth Illusion Into Reality The Wall Street Journal
September 3, 2003 China's Borrowed Growth The Wall Street Journal
August 29, 2003 China's Moral Vacuum The Wall Street Journal

References

  1. ^ "About | PAG". www.pag.com. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Trustee: Weijian Shan". The British Museum. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Members of the Board". March 2022.
  4. ^ "Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America, Revised Edition | Wiley". Wiley.com. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea's Most Iconic Bank | Wiley". Wiley.com. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Money Machine: A Trailblazing American Venture in China | Wiley". Wiley.com. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Weijian Shan's journey from Mao's revolution to US high finance". Financial Times. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Biography of Dr. Weijian Shan : The Wharton Global Alumni Forum-Hong Kong". www.whartonhongkong07.com. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  9. ^ Steger, Isabella (17 January 2019). "A top Asia dealmaker retraces a life shaped by 40 years of US-China relations". Quartz. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  10. ^ Steger, Isabella (17 January 2019). "A top Asia dealmaker retraces a life shaped by 40 years of US-China relations". Quartz. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  11. ^ admin. "Weijian Shan - Biography". Weijian Shan. Retrieved 3 May 2023.