Tim Clissold (Chinese name: 祈立天) is a Western writer on business in China. He is the author of a memoir detailing how he helped the Wall Street trader Jack Perkowski to invest, lose and recover over $400 million in mainland China as the country first opened up to foreign direct investment.Dan Fitzpatrick, "'Mr. China' -- Pittsburgher's status borders on mythical", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 22 November 2006 His book detailed the numerous ways the fund lost money and the steps it took to recover it.Gady A. Epstein, "China flies the flag", Forbes, April 25, 2008,Scott Cendrowski, "Businesses Going Into China Need to Know These Rules First", "Fortune", December 3, 2016 Clissold was president of the foreign-invested ASIMCO Technologies before parting company from Perkowski, who claims never to have read the book that gave him the nickname Mr. China. Time Magazine described Mr China as 'an instant classic.' Bill Powell, "Books: Mr. China Hits the Road" Time, 20 February 2005
Clissold has since written three more books, Chinese Rules, Cloud Chamber and Teach the People. The Financial Times Shanghai correspondent wrote of Chinese Rules: 'Read Tim Clissold, the British businessman whose book Mr China is probably the best I've ever come across about China. Now he has written another: it's about what makes China tick - for foreigners who can clearly hear it ticking but can't quite figure out why.'
Clissold is a Visiting Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge and Senior Research Associate at the Cambridge University China Forum. For many years, he has undertaken dispute resolution assignments in China to mediate between Chinese businesses and foreign investors in cases where the relationship has broken down. He is non-executive director of London Stock Exchange quoted investment trusts, Henderson Far East Income and Baillie Gifford China Growth. In March, 2025, he joined Highgate Limited, a dispute resolution advisory firm as Senior Advisor.
Bibliography Mr. China: A Memoir, HarperBusiness, 2005 Chinese Rules, HarperCollins, 2014 Cloud Chamber, Commercial Press of China, 2021 Teach the People, to be published in early 2025.
References
External links Tim Clissold, Mr Wang's chemical factory, Chinadialogue.net, 18 September 2007 Tim Clissold's website