Timothy P. Stratford

Tim Stratford is senior counsel and former managing partner in Covington & Burling’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 (USTR), Mr. Stratford is the most senior former U.S. official working as a member of the American business community in China. While at USTR from 2005 to 2010, he was responsible for developing and implementing U.S. trade policy toward China. He worked closely with other senior U.S. and Chinese officials from numerous government departments and agencies to address problems encountered by companies engaged in bilateral trade and investment, and he co-chaired a number of bilateral working groups and dialogues established under the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade and the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue.

Except for the five years he spent in Washington at USTR, Mr. Stratford has lived and worked continuously in the greater China region since 1982, including as minister-counselor for Commercial Affairs at the United States Embassy in Beijing and as general counsel for General Motors China operations.