Ambassador James Keith
Senior Director, Asia, McLarty Associates

Ambassador James Keith, Senior Director, leads McLarty Associates’ China practice and co-leads our Asia practice. During his 31-year career as a US diplomat he became one of the US government’s top experts on China, serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for China, NSC Director for China, Consul General in Hong Kong, and as a political officer in the US Embassy in Beijing. He also has broad experience in Asia outside of China. From 2007 to 2010 he was the US Ambassador to Malaysia. He was previously posted in Seoul and Jakarta, as well as serving as NSC Director for Southeast Asia. Ambassador Keith grew up across Asia, living in Tokyo, Jakarta, Hong Kong, and Taipei. He joined the US Foreign Service in 1980 after graduating with a BA degree in English from the College of William and Mary. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian, and has studied Korean.