1977 to 1980 -- James Chan, Ph.D., taught world regional geography and China at Boston University and SUNY in Cortland.
1981 -- Academic Press, Inc. in New York, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fortune 500 firm Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, engaged James Chan to enter the newly opened China market and expand sales in Southeast Asia.
1983 -- James Chan founded his Philadelphia-based, independent consulting practice, China Trade Consultant. The Institute for Scientific Information (Philadelphia), Rand McNally (Chicago) and Allerton Press (New York) were among his first clients.
1984 -- Kingsbury, Inc., inventor and the global leader in the design and manufacture of hydro-dynamic fluid-film bearings for the rotating equipment industry, engaged James Chan to open the China market. Dr. Chan has continued working with Kingsbury since 1984. He has helped turn China into Kingsbury's top ten global markets.
1986 -- Publishers Weekly magazine commissioned Dr. Chan to write the article, “Selling Books in China.” The unique investigative report established Chan as a China expert.
1990 -- Directed the import operations of one of America's largest manufacturers of Christmas stockings and electro-mechanical Santa Claus lighting fixtures for Rennoc Corporation in Vineland, New Jersey. Supervised sourcing functions of Asian suppliers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
1991 -- To broaden the geographic scope of his practice, James Chan renamed his practice to Asia Marketing and Management (AMM). ASTM, the leading and largest standards association in the United States, engaged AMM to create a joint publishing venture with the Chinese Association For Standardization (CAS) in Beijing.
1996 -- The American Management Association (AMA) in New York City commissioned AMM to create and lead its first three-day course “Business Skills for the China Market” for Fortune 1000 companies. Dr. Chan taught the three-day, executive training program throughout the United States including New York, Washington, DC, Chicago, and San Franciso.
2000 -- James Chan wrote the book, Spare Room Tycoon: The 70 Lessons in Sane Self-Employment with Thomas Hine. The book was published by Nicholas Brealey Publishing in London, U.K.
2004 -- The Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) engaged AMM to deliver a keynote presentation on doing business in China at its annual international conference in San Antonio, TX. The Robotic Industries Association, Motor and Motion Association, American Hardware Manufacturers Association and other associations also engaged Dr. Chan to deliver customized China presentations.
2008 -- The School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, engaged Dr. Chan to teach a special, 15-hour course on China and Hong Kong for its “Global Biomedical Service” (GBS) program. The course prepares young engineers to work with children who suffer from cerebral palsy in China and to gain practical cultural and overseas working experience.
2010 -- Dr. Chan created a special MBA course “Global Exporting: Asia Focus” for Villanova's School of Business. He taught the course to working MBA students for three consecutive years.
2012 -- Senior management of Westinghouse Electric Company sought Dr. Chan's independent advice on their China strategy.
2014 -- Lockheed Martin commissioned AMM to create a one-day training program for 20 executives and engineers titled “China: A Basic Short Course.”
2018 -- The 35th anniversary of James Chan's independent practice. He has advised more than 100 U.S. firms in doing business in China and Asia.
