Dewardric L. McNeal is a former Obama Administration appointee to the U.S. Department of Defense where he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy working on East Asia and China security relations with the United States and its Asian allies. He was appointed by President Obama in May 2009 after serving on the 2008 Obama for America Campaign’s Asia Advisor Team. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he served as the Assistant Director for International Programs at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Brookings Institution’s first foreign joint research center, which is located in Beijing at the Tsinghua University’s School of Public Policy.

After leaving the Obama Administration he turned his attention to the challenges and emerging opportunities in the Africa-China-US trade and economic relationship.

Mr. McNeal served on the senior management team at OIC International, an international development organization with offices and partnerships throughout sub-Saharan Africa. As Director of Global Strategy and Policy, he was the principal strategic advisor to the President and Chief Executive Officer at OIC International responsible for the organization’s engagement and Africa growth strategy and advised the organization on policy and strategic matters. After leaving OIC International he founded Longview Global, LLC to advise corporations, organizations, and high-net worth individuals on a full range of policy and regulatory matters to include national security, economics and trade, and political affairs.

 

 

As the Managing Director and Senior Policy Analyst at Longview, Mr. McNeal currently serves as an advisor to several companies in the United States, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Yangtze River Delta and Greater Bay Regions in China and serves as a foreign expert advisor to the Nanjing University's Center for Asia-Pacific Development Studies (CAPDS) on economic, security, and trade-related matters.

 

Mr. McNeal's early career included positions as the Special Assistant to the Director of Information at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles and as an analyst in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) during the 106th United States Congress, which took up the issue of granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China.

 

Mr. McNeal has deep knowledge of global policy and political trends and an extensive network of relationships in Washington, Beijing, and other capitals throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa. Mr. McNeal also appears frequently on a variety of global and national news networks and media platforms as a foreign affairs commentator providing his expert analysis on trade, national security, and foreign policy.