Date and Time
Thursday, July 17, 2025
10–11 a.m. MST
Location
Canyonlands Conference Room
World Trade Center Utah
Join us for a roundtable event with Covington & Burling LLP’s China Public Policy Practice.
The discussion will focus on the future of U.S.-China relations and provide Utah companies with insider tips on adapting to legal and regulatory challenges in the region.
As part of the conversation, legal experts Eric Carlson and Tim Stratford will discuss how China policy impacts U.S. companies and investors. Join us to learn how to navigate trade controls and potential compliance obstacles before they arise.
Eric Carlson has nearly two decades of experience advising clients operating in China and other jurisdictions in Asia on compliance and investigations matters, particularly in the areas of corruption/FCPA/fraud and export controls/sanctions. Having lived in China for more than a decade, he has deep experience leading highly sensitive investigations in China and other jurisdictions in Asia, including investigations presenting complex legal, political, and reputational risks. He speaks Mandarin and Cantonese and has led more than four hundred witness interviews in Chinese in 24 provinces in China, and conducted dozens of trainings in Chinese. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner.
Eric also counsels clients on the compliance risks of proposed transactions, conducts compliance due diligence as part of mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, assists companies in updating and strengthening their internal compliance programs and tailoring them to the unique features of Asian markets, and developing and presenting tailored compliance training in Chinese and English. Eric has advised scores of companies and organizations representing nearly every major industry.
Tim Stratford is senior counsel and former managing partner of Covington & Burling LLP’s Beijing office. His practice is focused on advising international clients doing business in China and assisting Chinese companies seeking to expand their businesses globally. As a former Assistant United States Trade Representative, Mr. Stratford is the most senior former U.S. trade official to have worked as a longtime member of the U.S. business community in Beijing.
Except for the five years he spent in Washington at USTR (2005 to 2010), Mr. Stratford lived and worked continuously in the greater China region from 1982-2023, including as minister-counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and as general counsel for General Motors China operations. Mr. Stratford has served three terms as chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in the People’s Republic of China -- in 2000, 2001, and 2019. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Harvard Law School and speaks Mandarin and Cantonese.