Eden Woon Is New Director Of China Relations Council

SEATTLE - A former U.S. Air Force colonel, who served in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in the mid-1980s, has been named executive director of the Washington State China Relations Council.

Eden Woon succeeds Bob Kapp and will begin work Dec. 1.

The council is a trade organization that represents The Boeing Co., Microsoft Corp., Weyerhaeuser Co., Fluke Corp. and about 60 other Washington companies that export goods and services to China.

Woon received a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Washington in 1972. He retired from the Air Force in 1993 and currently specializes in Chinese affairs for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in Washington D.C.

Council president Michael Bickford said Woon, who is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, will "help guide the council's efforts in enhancing our understanding and relationship in China."