China's ambassador to the US leaves post after 8 years; Beijing silent on his successor

China’s longest-serving ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, has announced he will leave Washington after eight years. In a farewell statement, Cui said that US-China relations are at a “crossroads” as the United States recalibrates its engagement policies. He also called on Chinese people in the US to defend their right to be there and to “shoulder a great responsibility and mission” in furthering the bilateral relationship. 

“Sino-US relations are at a critical crossroads, and the US’s China policy is undergoing a new round of restructure, facing a choice between dialogue and cooperation, or confrontation and conflict,” he said in his letter.

Cui added, “At this moment, overseas Chinese in the United States shoulder a greater responsibility and mission. I hope you will continue to be a firm promoter and positive contributor to the healthy and stable development of Sino-US relations, and defend your right to be in the US … and safeguard the fundamental interests of the Chinese and American people to promote world peace, stability and prosperity”. 

Cui’s time in Washington spanned the presidencies of Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. He has been a witness to a profound shift in US-China relations. He was there during a period of upheaval in relations between the two countries under the leadership of Xi Jinping and Trump, including a trade war, tit-for-tat closures of consulates and restrictions on respective foreign journalists, criticism over China’s human rights abuses, worsening tensions over Taiwan and hostility about the origins and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Qin Gang likely to succeed Cui 

Now, until his yet-to-be-announced successor arrives in the US, neither Beijing nor Washington will have a top envoy in each other’s capital as the former US ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, left Beijing last year before the November election. The unusual diplomatic vacuum is the latest sign of the ongoing breakdown in formal relations between the two nations. While under the Trump administration tensions between the US and China flared across a range of fronts, with Biden casting China as an authoritarian rival to Western diplomacy, tensions are likely to further escalate. 

It is worth noting that Cui stayed well past the traditional retirement age of 65. He is typical of China's old-school diplomats, adept at expressing a firm stance in a moderate manner and measured tone. According to CNN, he is widely tipped to be succeeded by Qin Gang, a career diplomat who currently serves as a deputy foreign minister responsible for overseeing European affairs. Qin is seen as a trusted aide of President Xi Jinping as he has even accompanied the Chinese leader on many overseas trips as his chief protocol officer. 

(Image: AP)