David Merkle heads the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s China Office in Shanghai. As Country Representative, he is responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of KAS activities in China and analyzes on-the-ground trends, including media narratives and inclusive education in Shanghai. He works closely with Chinese and international partners from politics, academia and civil society. Merkle regularly appears as a speaker and moderator at KAS events. He led the Europe-China Future Young Leaders Program 2025 in Shenzhen, which brought together young talent from Europe and China to discuss the future of bilateral relations.
Merkle studied East Asian Studies with a focus on Greater China and politics at the universities of Bochum and Tübingen. From 2013 to 2016, he worked as a research associate at the KAS Shanghai office before becoming Country Representative.