Dr. Elizabeth Economy sits down with Patrick Jenevein to discuss his career in the energy industry in China, the outlook for foreign individuals and companies seeking to do business in the country, and his new book - Dancing with the Dragon. Jenevein, who worked in the country for more than 20 years, recounts a collection of stories ranging from one of his company’s first deal in the country’s far west, negotiating with one of Deng Xiaoping’s top advisers to detailing the frustrations that eventually led him to leave the country.

Recorded on March 26, 2025.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Patrick Jenevein serves as the chief executive at Pointe Bello, an intelligence-driven strategy development firm that provides pioneering open-source intelligence to governmental and commercial bodies on the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) economic statecraft activity worldwide. Prior to launching Pointe Bello, he co-founded Tang Energy Group and, partnering with PRC state-owned enterprises, developed several businesses in the power-generating and electrical infrastructure sectors, including power plants, wind farms, and a manufacturer of wind turbine blades. Jenevein is a graduate of Davidson College, a Council on Foreign Relations Life Member, and past Chairman of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations.

Elizabeth Economy is the Hargrove Senior Fellow and co-director of the Program on the US, China, and the World at the Hoover Institution. From 2021-2023, she took leave from Hoover to serve as the senior advisor for China to the US secretary of commerce. Before joining Hoover, she was the C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and director, Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of four books on China, including most recently The World According to China (Polity, 2021), and the co-editor of two volumes. She serves on the boards of the National Endowment for Democracy and the National Committee on US-China Relations. She is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and Council on Foreign Relations and serves as a book reviewer for Foreign Affairs.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow Patrick Jenevein on LinkedIn: Patrick Jenevein

ABOUT THE SERIES

China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.

Inside China’s Business World with Patrick Jenevein

China Considered

Inside China’s Business World with Patrick Jenevein