List of ambassadors of the United States to China


The United States Ambassador to China is the chief American diplomat to 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, the Qing Empire did not have a system in place for the Emperor to accept the Letters of Credence of foreign representatives. From 1858 to 1935, the U.S. 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.
During the republican era, the U.S. recognized the Beiyang Government in Beijing from 1912 to 1928 and the Nationalist Government in Nanjing from 1928 onwards. After the Communist People's Republic of China was established in mainland China in 1949 and the Kuomintang moved the Republic of China government from Nanjing to Taipei, Taiwan, the U.S. continued to recognize the Republic of China as the legitimate Chinese government and maintained its embassy in Taiwan. However, in 1973, the U.S. 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 U.S. severed official relations with the Republic of China and in January 1979, established formal relations with the People's Republic of China. The U.S. 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 U.S. representative to Taiwan, with the director of its Taipei Office taking the role of a de facto ambassador.
On May 22, 2017 the United States Senate approved and confirmed Terry Branstad, former Governor of Iowa, as the U.S. Ambassador to China. He was sworn in on May 24, 2017.

Chronology

Representation is as follows :
Qing Empire:
Republic of China:
People's Republic of China:

List of envoys to the Republic of China

List of ambassadors to the Republic of China

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.
NamePortraitHome statePresented credentialsTerminated
Karl L. RankinMaineApril 2, 1953December 30, 1957
Everett F. DrumrightOklahomaMarch 8, 1958March 8, 1962
Alan Goodrich KirkNew YorkJuly 5, 1962January 18, 1963
Jerauld WrightDistrict of ColumbiaJune 29, 1963July 25, 1965
Walter P. McConaughyAlabamaJune 28, 1966April 4, 1974
Leonard S. UngerMarylandMay 25, 1974January 19, 1979

For a list of de facto U.S. ambassadors to Taiwan since 1979, see list of Directors of the American Institute in Taiwan.

List of chiefs of the U.S. 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 U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing.
NamePortraitHome statePresented credentialsTerminated
David K. E. BruceVirginiaMay 14, 1973September 25, 1974
George H. W. BushTexasSeptember 26, 1974December 7, 1975
Thomas S. Gates Jr.PennsylvaniaMay 6, 1976May 8, 1977
Leonard WoodcockMichiganJuly 26, 1977March 7, 1979

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.
NamePortraitHome statePresented credentialsTerminated
Leonard WoodcockMichiganMarch 7, 1979February 13, 1981
Arthur W. Hummel Jr.MarylandSeptember 24, 1981September 24, 1985
Winston LordNew YorkNovember 19, 1985April 23, 1989
James LilleyMarylandMay 8, 1989May 10, 1991
J. Stapleton RoyPennsylvaniaAugust 20, 1991June 17, 1995
James R. SasserTennesseeFebruary 14, 1996July 1, 1999
Joseph PrueherTennesseeDecember 15, 1999May 1, 2001
Clark T. Randt Jr.ConnecticutJuly 28, 2001January 20, 2009
Jon Huntsman Jr.UtahAugust 28, 2009April 30, 2011
Gary LockeWashingtonAugust 16, 2011February 21, 2014
Max BaucusMontanaMarch 20, 2014January 16, 2017
Terry E. BranstadIowaJuly 12, 2017Incumbent

Citations