Ambassador Craig Allen

Senior Counselor

Ambassador Craig Allen joined The Cohen Group in 2025 after serving as the President of the US-China Business Council (USCBC) from 2018 to 2024, a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing over 200 American companies doing business in China. Prior to his leadership at USCBC, Ambassador Allen was the United States Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam from December 19, 2014, to July 2018.

Before his ambassadorial role, Ambassador Allen had a long and distinguished career in US public service, primarily within the Department of Commerce. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the Department’s International Trade Administration and later as Deputy Assistant Secretary for China. His prior overseas assignments include serving as the Senior Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in Beijing, where he held the Minister Counselor rank of the Senior Foreign Service. He also served as Senior Commercial Officer in South Africa and as Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in Tokyo.

Earlier in his career, Ambassador Allen worked at the National Center for APEC in Seattle, contributing to APEC Summits in Brunei, China, and Mexico. He held commercial attaché positions at the U.S. Embassies in Beijing and Tokyo and at the American Institute in Taiwan, where he was Director of the American Trade Center in Taipei. He began his government career in 1985 as a Presidential Management Intern at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, later serving as an international economist in its China Office.

Ambassador Allen holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.