Americans who want to do business in China need to meet this man

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When Janet Yellen traveled to Beijing earlier this year, there was one person in particular she wanted to talk to: He Lifeng, one of the men holding the keys to the Chinese economy.

The U.S. Treasury secretary was trying to get Beijing to rethink a manufacturing policy that has flooded the world’s markets with Chinese electric cars and other goods that undercut global businesses.

And He has a direct line to leader Xi Jinping. For that reason, He is also the man who multinational executives—many of whom share Yellen’s concerns yet still want to do business in the country—are lining up to meet.

He, pronounced like “huh," is the latest in a long line of high-level Chinese officials dedicated to dealing with foreigners, a role referred to in diplomatic circles as a “barbarian handler." In recent decades, as the Communist Party focused on developing the economy, a succession of barbarian handlers used a combination of charm and political and technocratic skills to convey China’s priorities, while still attracting much-needed foreign investment. The origins of the tongue-in-cheek term trace back to the Middle Kingdom viewing outsiders with suspicion and even disdain for centuries, referring to them as “big noses" or “barbarians." The challenge for He: Unlike previous Chinese officials who have acted as go-betweens with Western politicians and CEOs, little in his background has prepared him for managing trade tensions or courting foreign investors.

He has spent little time overseas, doesn’t speak English and has spent most of his career as a state planner and project manager for different Chinese cities. He, who became vice premier overseeing economic and financial affairs a year and a half