Kurt Tong

Ambassador Kurt Tong is a Partner at The Asia Group, where he brings 30 years of diplomacy experience to lead the firm’s work in Japan and Hong Kong, and on East Asia regional policy matters. 

At The Asia Group, Ambassador Tong is also a member of the Executive Committee and leads the firm’s analytics team and innovative thought leadership programs. A leading expert in diplomacy and economic affairs in East Asia, Ambassador Tong brings thirty years of experience in the Department of State as a career Foreign Service Officer and member of the Senior Foreign Service.

Prior to joining The Asia Group, Ambassador Tong served as Consul General and Chief of Mission in Hong Kong and Macau, leading U.S. political and economic engagement with that important free trade hub. Prior to that role, he served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs at the State Department from 2014 to 2016 and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo from 2011 to 2014, where he played a key role in setting the stage for Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership and supporting Japan’s recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. In 2013, he received the Cordell Hull Award for Economic Achievement by Senior Officers for his outstanding success in advancing U.S. economic interests by reducing trade barriers, increasing market access for American products, and enhancing international cooperation across the Asia Pacific region. He also received Presidential Meritorious Service Awards for 2011 and 2018.

Prior to these positions, Ambassador Tong served as Ambassador for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2011, leading the U.S. chairmanship of the organization during one of the most productive periods for APEC. As Director of Korean Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, he played a leadership role in negotiations with North Korea as part of the Six-Party Talks and in securing the release of captive Americans held there. He was one of the original architects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement during the Bush and Obama administrations, including while serving as Director for Asian Economic Affairs at the White House National Security Council from 2006 to 2008.

Ambassador Tong holds a B.A. from The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and studied economics at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute.

Ambassador Tong is a Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and serves on the board of directors of several non-profit organizations. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, a member of the U.S. Committee for the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Ambassador Tong speaks and reads both Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.