Simon is among the six U.S. and six Chinese experts who work together as a cooperative team to analyze policy issues to support the implementation of the government-to-government dialogue.  The annual US-China Dialogue is one of the most important components of the ongoing bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue between Washington and Beijing.  This year's dialogue was chaired by John Holdren, President Obama's Science Adviser, and Minister Wan Gang from China's Ministry of Science and Technology. Also in attendance were senior representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of State. They were matched with counterparts from China's Ministry of Finance, the State Intellectual Property Office, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Simon was selected to be an original member of the U.S. experts group from the inception of the formal dialogue and was associated with two earlier bilateral meetings that formed the foundation for the establishment of the four-year-old official gathering on innovation issues. As one of the world's top experts on Chinese research and development and innovation issues, Denis Simon, Arizona State University vice provost for International Strategic Initiatives, has been visiting China and conducting research on science and technology policy issues for more than three decades.