Xie Feng, China’s new ambassador to the U.S., addresses the media as he arrives at JFK airport in New York Metropolis, Might 23, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
China’s new ambassador to the U.S. arrived in New York Tuesday with a name to “safeguard the pursuits of China,” based on a launch from the nation’s embassy within the U.S.
Xie Feng assumes workplace after a interval of about six months wherein China has had no ambassador to the U.S. He was most not too long ago a vice overseas minister.
Xie mentioned Tuesday the bilateral relationship faces “severe difficulties and challenges,” and his mission is to “improve China-U.S. exchanges and cooperation,” the discharge mentioned in English.
The U.S. Division of State didn’t instantly reply to a CNBC request for remark.
The prior ambassador, Qin Gang, was promoted in December to develop into China’s new overseas minister. Earlier this month, Qin met U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns in Beijing for the primary time since assuming his new position.
Tensions between the 2 nations escalated in February after the U.S. shot down an alleged Chinese language spy balloon over American airspace. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had deliberate to go to Beijing round that point, however determined to postpone the journey after the balloon incident.
Over the weekend, U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned these tensions would “start to thaw very shortly.”
“We’re not seeking to decouple from China, we’re seeking to de-risk and diversify our relationship with China,” Biden advised reporters following the Group of Seven assembly in Hiroshima, Japan, based on a White Home transcript.
Probably the most optimistic state of affairs for a ‘thaw’ is solely a halt within the decline of relations.
He didn’t focus on potential new guidelines limiting U.S. companies’ funding in superior Chinese language know-how.
“Probably the most optimistic state of affairs for a ‘thaw’ is solely a halt within the decline of relations,” Gabriel Wildau, managing director at consulting agency Teneo, mentioned in a notice. “For monetary markets and multinational firms working in China, nonetheless, such a halt could be important.”
“Even absent concrete coverage modifications, a basic sense that the downward spiral has stopped might scale back threat perceptions and unlock new funding.”
Learn extra about China from CNBC Professional
Correction: This story has been up to date to mirror that Nicholas Burns and Qin Gang’s assembly in Beijing this month was their first because the latter assumed his new position as overseas minister.