Outgoing top US envoy reassures Chinese on ties
As people across China head home to celebrate Lunar New Year, the top US diplomat in Beijing is preparing to leave the country where he’s stayed for three years.
Before his departure, though, he has tried to assure the Chinese about Washington’s insistence on further developing bilateral ties, though many Chinese have become pessimistic about the next US administration’s stance.
“Although this is a transition period and some people have questions about the road ahead, I believe that both our countries agree on the importance of making our relationship a successful one,” US Ambassador to China Max Baucus said in an article published in People’s Daily on Thursday.
According to a release from the US embassy, Baucus will leave China on Jan 16 and end his term on Jan 20.
US president-elect Donald Trump has demanded that all ambassadors appointed by President Barack Obama leave office before his inauguration on Jan 20.
“The United States’ China policies, which have continued for decades and been supported by all the governments of both parties, have always welcomed the rise of a stable, peaceful and prosperous China,” Baucus wrote.
“To be honest, the US ambassador to China is the best job I have taken,” he added.
Baucus, who has spent most of his public life in the US Senate, was the key person facilitating China’s entry to the World Trade Organization in 2001.
When he arrived in March 2014, he promised President Xi Jinping that he would visit every province of the Chinese mainland for a thorough experience of the country. “In October, I did it,” he wrote of fulfilling the promise.
“What I learned on the road is that both Americans and Chinese are basically looking for the same things in life — a good job, good education for the children and a clean and safe living environment.”
He said that when he saw patience, persistence and a positive attitude on the part of the Chinese, he knew “there is nothing we cannot achieve when we work together”.
A reader using the name Baiyunxingxing commented on the US embassy’s website, “These are objective views, from an outgoing US ambassador.”
Niu Jun, professor of US studies at Peking University, said that past US ambassadors made great contributions to the key relationship, “which is not an easy job”.
“The next ambassador will have more challenging tasks,” Niu added.
Terry Branstad, the governor of Iowa, was nominated by Trump to be the next US ambassador to China.
In a short farewell video issued to China Daily, Baucus said he was “particularly inspired by our ability to work together to overcome some pretty big issues”. He offered the Paris climate change agreement as an example.
His wife, Melodee Hanes, said: “It’s really not easy for us to leave. We have made so many good friends here . ... I’m absolutely certain we will be back.”
The United States’ China policies ... have always welcomed the rise of a stable, peaceful and prosperous China.” Max Baucus, US ambassador to China