NEW YORK: A superpower partnership that is “facing severe challenges” has a new ambassador from China to the US who has vowed to take on the “heavy responsibility” of the relationship.
Beijing’s embassy in the US announced in a statement that career diplomat Xie Feng, who has vast experience in Washington, arrived in New York on Tuesday, AFP said.
He replaces Qin Gang, who quit earlier this year to become China’s foreign minister.
According to a statement on the embassy’s website, Xie told reporters at the airport that “Sino-US relations are currently experiencing serious difficulties and facing severe challenges.”
“I feel a great sense of mission and a great deal of obligation. My coworkers and I will overcome obstacles, carry out our duties, and accomplish our purpose,” he said.
According to Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to China, he had a “farewell dinner” with Xie “as we manage the ever-challenging US-China relationship” on Wednesday.
Burns posted on Twitter, saying, “I look forward to working with him in his new role.”
The 59-year-old Xie is from the affluent eastern province of Jiangsu and has a master’s degree in engineering, according to his official government biography.
He has been employed in the foreign service since at least 1986, and he spent a significant portion of the 1990s moving up the bureau for North American affairs of the ministry.
Before being appointed ambassador to Indonesia, he worked at China’s embassy in Washington for two terms.
Most recently, Xie served as deputy minister of foreign affairs and commissioner of Beijing’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong.
Tensions over trade, technology, human rights, and other topics have strained ties between China and the US in recent years.
High-end microchips have become a new flashpoint. Beijing said on Sunday that US semiconductor company Micron had failed a national security examination and would no longer be permitted to sell to “critical information infrastructure operators.”
The declaration followed actions taken by Washington and its allies in recent months that China alleged were intended to limit its access to modern chip manufacturing and supply as well as to contain its burgeoning global dominance.
Beijing also sentenced 78-year-old American John Shing-wan Leung to life in jail last month for espionage, though it provided little information about the case.
