China’s new ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, has assumed his role amidst heightened tension and daunting challenges between China and the US, including disputes encompassing trade, technology, and human rights.
China’s new ambassador to the United States has arrived, vowing to shoulder the “heavy responsibility” of a superpower relationship “facing severe challenges.”
Xie Feng, a career diplomat with extensive experience in Washington, arrived in New York on Tuesday, Beijing’s embassy in the US said in a statement.
He replaces Qin Gang, who left his post earlier this year to serve as China’s foreign minister.
According to an official government biography, 59-year-old Xie hails from the wealthy eastern province of Jiangsu and holds a master’s degree in engineering.
He has worked in the foreign service since at least 1986 and spent much of the 1990s rising through the ranks of the ministry’s bureau for North American affairs.
He served two stints in China’s outpost in Washington the following decade before becoming ambassador to Indonesia.
Most recently, Xie worked as commissioner of Beijing’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong and vice minister of foreign affairs.
Relations between China and the US have become fraught recently, with tensions flaring over trade, technology, human rights, and other issues.
A recent flash point has been high-end microchips, with Beijing saying on Sunday that US semiconductor giant Micron had failed a national security review and would not be allowed to sell to operators of “critical information infrastructure.”
The announcement came after Washington and its allies took measures recently that China claimed were designed to restrict its ability to purchase or manufacture cutting-edge chips and curb its rising global power.
Beijing this month also sentenced American citizen John Shing-wan Leung, 78, to life in prison for espionage but disclosed few details about the case.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP
