The United States ambassador to China is stepping down amid a spiraling rivalry between the world’s two largest economies, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated on Twitter.
If confirmed, the departure of Terry Branstad, whom Beijing once billed as “an old friend of the Chinese people,” would deal another blow to the deeply fraught US-China relationship amid fears of the Cold War-style confrontation, analysts said.
“I thank Ambassador Terry Branstad for his more than three years of service to the American people as US Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China,” Pompeo tweeted overnight.
“President Trump chose Ambassador Branstad because his decades long experience dealing with China mad
Sep 14, 2020