James Chau is the inaugural President of the China-United States Exchange Foundation, having joined CUSEF in 2018 when he began working with its founder The Honorable Tung Chee-hwa, First Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR. At the United Nations, Mr. Chau is the World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goals and Health, appointed by WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, and re-appointed by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Previously, he was a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador. A long-time television news anchor, he has earned a special reputation for his interviews with world leaders such as Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, and Muhammad Yunus, Christine Lagarde, Jane Goodall, and Madame Peng Liyuan. Born in London, he studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music and graduated from Cambridge University. He completed an Executive Education course on Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.