Wenjie Chen

Ms. Wenjie Chen is a Deputy Division Chief in the IMF’s African Department and currently serves as Mission Chief for Mali. Until recently, she was Deputy and Acting Division Chief in the Regional Studies Division, where she oversaw the publication of the Regional Economic Outlook on sub-Saharan Africa, including flagship chapters on critical minerals, job creation, China–Africa relations, and fragile and conflict-affected states.

She began her career as an Assistant Professor of International Business at George Washington University before joining the IMF as a mid-career economist in 2014. In the African Department, she worked on South Sudan, Eswatini, and South Africa, and contributed to multiple Regional Economic Outlook chapters. She later joined the Research Department, where she co-authored and co-led chapters of the World Economic Outlook. Ms. Chen has also served as Senior Desk Economist for China and participated in IMF missions to Timor-Leste.

Her research and policy work focus on global value chains, trade competitiveness, market power, and China–Africa economic relations, with publications in leading academic and policy journals. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Lawrence University.