Xie Feng, China’s new ambassador to the United States arrived in New York City on May 23, as both nations have indicated the desire to thaw frosty relations.
Xie addressed the media in English after landing at JFK airport, stating that he aimed to enhance U.S.-China relations at a time of “serious difficulties and challenges.”
“We hope that the United States will work together with China to increase dialogue, to manage differences, and also to expand our cooperation so that our relationship will be back to the right track,” he said.
Xie takes up his new post in Washington at a time when U.S.-China relations are at a decades low. The two sides have fallen into fierce disputes over competition in trade, technology, South China Sea sovereignty, Taiwan Strait issues, and a spy balloon incident in February that led to the suspension of high-level diplomatic contacts.
The Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023.; and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over a debris field during recovery efforts on Feb. 4, 2023. (Randall Hill/Reuters); U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Jerry Ireland)Xie’s predecessor Qin Gang left Washington in January to become China’s new foreign minister. During his tenure as China’s ambassador to the United States, Qin wasn’t able to stop the worsening of U.S.-China relations with his aggressive diplomacy style.
The U.S. State Department welcomed Xie’s arrival. “We look forward to working with the ambassador designate and his team,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing.
In recent weeks, there have been indications that the tensions between China and the United States might be cooling. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with top Chinese official Wang Yi in Vienna, and China’s Commerce Minister may meet with top U.S. commerce and trade officials in the coming weeks.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in Japan during the G-7 summit last weekend that the Chinese spy balloon incident “changed everything,” but “I think you’re going to see that begin to thaw very shortly.”
Xie’s appointment as the new ambassador to the United States may signal Beijing’s desire to de-escalate bilateral disputes, as Xie has been viewed as an intermediary between the United States and China.
Last November, Xie helped arrange a high-profile summit between China’s ruling communist party’s (CCP) leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden. He also played an important role on the Chinese side in the negotiation of a prisoner exchange agreement in 2021. Under the deal, Beijing released two Canadian citizens in exchange for the United States giving up the extradition request of Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, who was detained in Canada.
Xie, 59, joined China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1986. He had years of experience in diplomacy, especially with the United States. From 2000 to 2003, he served as attache and spokesperson of the Chinese embassy to the United States. In 2008, he served as counselor to the United States. In 2010, he was promoted to Director of the North American and Oceanian Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2014, he was appointed as the ambassador to Indonesia.
In June 2017, Xie became the commissioner of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong. In 2021, he went back to Beijing to serve as vice minister of foreign affairs.
Then-Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the HKSAR, Xie Feng, gives a speech at a press conference in Hong Kong on Feb. 7, 2020. (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)Xie has extensive contacts with the strategic and business circles of the United States. Last October, he said at the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies that he hopes the experts at the think tanks in both nations can play an active role in bringing U.S.-Sino relations back on track.
On Jan. 16, Xie delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the China Think Tank International Influence Forum in Beijing. He reiterated the importance of the roles played by people in the Chinese and American strategic circles and business circles in the U.S.-Sino dialogue and cooperation, according to mainland Chinese media outlet The Paper.
Wang Weizheng, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Adelphi University in the United States and a professor of political science, told media earlier this year that U.S. affairs are the top priority of China’s diplomacy. He said Xie is a relatively down-to-earth person who could help ease the tension between the United States and China.
However, he said that China’s foreign policy will not have major changes due to personnel changes in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“CCP’s leader Xi Jinping defines Sino-U.S. relations and China’s overall diplomatic form as he wishes. Whether it is the foreign minister or the ambassador to the U.S., they are all tools to implement Xi’s policies,” he said.