Our Team

Senior Management
 

The UNDP Resident Representative is the UNDP Administrator's representative at the country level, and head of the country office being ultimately accountable for UNDP’s programme and operations, including for the quality and sustainability of UNDP interventions on the ground. 

Ms. Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative in China

Beate Trankmann took up her post as UNDP Resident Representative for China in October 2019.

Ms. Trankmann has had a diverse career with UNDP since the late 1990s, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Most recently she served as United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Mongolia from August 2015 to September 2019. She also served as the UNDP Country Director in Indonesia (2010-2015); Deputy Resident Representative in charge of Programme in Sri Lanka (2005-2010); Assistant Resident Representative responsible for democratic governance in Cambodia (2002-2005); and programme officer in China (1999-2002) and Geneva (1998-99). Prior to joining UNDP, Ms. Trankmann was a research fellow at the European Institute for Asian Studies in Brussels, advising European Union institutions on EU-Asia relations.

Educated in France, China (Taiwan) and Germany, she holds a master’s degree in political science and a bachelor’s degree in China studies, both University of Hamburg.

Mr. James George, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in China

James George assumed his post as UNDP Deputy Resident Representative for China in January 2022.  He is a development practitioner with more than 25 years of experience with both United Nations and the private sector.

Before joining UNDP China, he was the UNDP Country Programme Advisor for East Asia and the Pacific region based in Bangkok (August 2019 - January 2022). From 2017-2019, he was seconded to the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General in New York, where he held the portfolio on SDG implementation and strategic partnerships; sustainable development in Africa; and Special Initiatives of the Secretary General. 

From 2002-2017, Mr. George held several positions with the United Nations, including UNDP Regional Partnership Advisor and UNDP Regional Programme Specialist based in Bangkok; Assistant Resident Representative in charge of Programme for UNDP Multi Country Office for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam based in Kuala Lumpur; and Programme Officer for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific based in Incheon. During this period, he authored and edited a number of UNDP publications and international journals focusing on leveraging innovation and technology for sustainable development in the Asia and the Pacific.

Mr. George started his career in the mid-1990s with private consulting firms in Malaysia focused on public sector reforms, digital transformation and strategic national development initiatives. He is a Chevening Scholar of the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and holds a post graduate degree in international development and politics.  

As of January 2019