List of ambassadors of the United States to China

The United States ambassador to China is the chief United States diplomat to the People's Republic of China. The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as commissioner, negotiated the Treaty of Wanghia. Commissioners represented the United States in China from 1844 to 1857. Until 1898, China did not have a system in place for the Emperor to accept the Letters of Credence of foreign representatives. From 1858 to 1935, the United States representative in China was formally Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to China. The American legation in Nanjing was upgraded to an embassy in 1935 and the Envoy was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Ambassador of the United States to the People's Republic of China
美利坚合众国驻华大使
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
R. Nicholas Burns
since April 1, 2022
ResidenceBeijing
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
FormationFebruary 27, 1979
First holderLeonard Woodcock
Websitechina.usembassy-china.org.cn

During the republican era, the United States recognized the Beiyang Government in Beijing from 1912 to 1928 and the Nationalist Government in Nanjing (and Chongqing from 1937 to 1945) from 1928 onwards. After the Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in mainland China in 1949 and the Kuomintang moved the Republic of China government from Nanjing to Taipei of Taiwan, the United States continued to recognize the Republic of China as the legitimate Chinese government and maintained its embassy in Taiwan. However, in 1973, the United States established a Liaison Office in Beijing to represent its interests in mainland China. In 1976, the Chief of the Liaison Office was promoted to the rank of ambassador. In December 1978, the United States severed official relations with the Republic of China and in January 1979, established formal relations with the People's Republic of China. The United States Liaison Office in Beijing was upgraded to an embassy on March 1, 1979. The American Institute in Taiwan was established in 1979 to serve as the unofficial United States representative to Taiwan, with the director of its Taipei Office taking the role of a de facto ambassador.

Chronology

Representation is as follows (years refer to dates of actual service):

Qing Empire:

  • Commissioner to the Great Qing: 1843 to 1857
  • Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: 1858 to 1912

Republic of China:

People's Republic of China:

  • Chief of the United States Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China: 1973 to 1979
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People's Republic of China: since 1979

List of envoys to the Qing Empire
Name Portrait Home state Presented credentials Terminated
Caleb Cushing Massachusetts June 12, 1844 August 27, 1844
Alexander Hill Everett Massachusetts October 26, 1846 June 28, 1847
John W. Davis Indiana October 6, 1848 May 25, 1850
Humphrey Marshall Kentucky July 4, 1853 January 27, 1854
Robert Milligan McLane Maryland November 3, 1854 December 12, 1854
Peter Parker Massachusetts July 15, 1856 August 25, 1857
William B. Reed Pennsylvania May 3, 1858 November 11, 1858
John Elliott Ward Georgia August 10, 1859 December 15, 1860
Anson Burlingame Massachusetts August 20, 1862 November 21, 1867
John Ross Browne California October 28, 1868 July 5, 1869
Frederick Low California April 27, 1870 July 24, 1873
Benjamin Avery California November 29, 1874 November 8, 1875
George Seward California April 24, 1876 August 16, 1880
James Burrill Angell Michigan August 16, 1880 October 4, 1881
John Russell Young New York August 17, 1882 April 7, 1885
Charles Harvey Denby Indiana October 1, 1885 July 8, 1898
Edwin H. Conger Iowa July 8, 1898 April 4, 1905
William Woodville Rockhill District of Columbia June 17, 1905 June 1, 1909
William J. Calhoun Illinois April 21, 1910 February 26, 1913[note 1]

List of envoys to the Republic of China
Name Portrait Home state Presented credentials Terminated
William J. Calhoun Illinois April 21, 1910 February 26, 1913[note 2]
Paul Samuel Reinsch Wisconsin November 15, 1913 September 15, 1919
Charles Richard Crane Illinois June 12, 1920 July 2, 1921
Jacob Gould Schurman New York September 12, 1921 April 15, 1925
John Van Antwerp MacMurray New Jersey July 15, 1925 November 22, 1929[note 3]
Nelson T. Johnson Oklahoma February 1, 1930 September 17, 1935
George Marshall Virginia December 20, 1945 January 1947

List of ambassadors to the Republic of China
Name Portrait Birthplace Presented credentials Terminated
Nelson T. Johnson Oklahoma September 17, 1935 May 14, 1941
Clarence E. Gauss Connecticut May 26, 1941 November 14, 1944
Patrick J. Hurley Oklahoma January 8, 1945 September 22, 1945
John Leighton Stuart Zhejiang Province July 19, 1946 August 2, 1949

The Communists took the Nationalist capital of Nanjing in April 1949, but Stuart was not recalled from China until August 1949. The United States did not recognize the new government of the People's Republic of China upon its founding in October 1949. The Consulate in Taipei was upgraded to an embassy in 1953, and therefore the Ambassador to China maintained residence at Taipei, Taiwan, in the Republic of China until relations were severed in 1979. (See: Former American Consulate in Taipei)

Name Portrait Home state Presented credentials Terminated
Karl L. Rankin Maine April 2, 1953 December 30, 1957
Everett F. Drumright Oklahoma March 8, 1958 March 8, 1962
Alan G. Kirk New York July 5, 1962 January 18, 1963
Jerauld Wright District of Columbia June 29, 1963 July 25, 1965
Walter P. McConaughy Alabama June 28, 1966 April 4, 1974
Leonard S. Unger Maryland May 25, 1974 January 19, 1979

For a list of de facto United States ambassadors to Republic of China since 1979, see list of Directors of the American Institute in Taiwan.

List of chiefs of the United States Liaison Office in Beijing

Between May 1973 and March 1979 prior to the official establishment of diplomatic relations, the United States dispatched a head of United States Liaison Office in Beijing.

Name Portrait Home state Presented credentials Terminated
David K. E. Bruce Virginia May 14, 1973 September 25, 1974
George H. W. Bush Texas September 26, 1974 December 7, 1975
Thomas S. Gates Jr. Pennsylvania May 6, 1976 May 8, 1977
Leonard Woodcock Michigan July 26, 1977 March 7, 1979[note 4]

List of ambassadors to the People's Republic of China

The United States established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and terminated them with the Republic of China, on January 1, 1979. The American Embassy at Taipei closed February 28, 1979, while the American Liaison Office at Beijing was redesignated the American Embassy on March 1, 1979.

Name Portrait Home state Presented credentials Terminated
Leonard Woodcock Michigan March 7, 1979 February 13, 1981
Arthur W. Hummel Jr. Maryland September 24, 1981 September 24, 1985
Winston Lord New York November 19, 1985 April 23, 1989
James Lilley Maryland May 8, 1989 May 10, 1991
J. Stapleton Roy Pennsylvania August 20, 1991 June 17, 1995
James R. Sasser Tennessee February 14, 1996 July 1, 1999
Joseph Prueher Tennessee December 15, 1999 May 1, 2001
Clark T. Randt Jr. Connecticut July 28, 2001 January 20, 2009
Jon Huntsman Jr. Utah August 28, 2009 April 30, 2011
Gary Locke Washington August 16, 2011 February 21, 2014
Max Baucus Montana March 20, 2014 January 16, 2017
Terry E. Branstad Iowa July 12, 2017 October 4, 2020
R. Nicholas Burns[1] Massachusetts April 1, 2022 Incumbent

See also

Notes
  1. Diplomatic relations with China interrupted on February 12, 1912 upon the abdication of Puyi.
  2. Diplomatic relations with China interrupted on February 12, 1912 upon the abdication of Puyi.
  3. Diplomatic relations with Beijing's Beiyang government terminated and recognition given to Nanjing's National Government on October 1, 1928.
  4. Upon normalization of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, Leonard Woodcock was promoted from liaison to ambassador in the new embassy.

References

Citations
  1. "China demands U.S. halt Olympics 'interference'". The Globe and Mail. January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.

Sources
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