Cui Tiankai

Cui Tiankai (Chinese: 崔天凯; pinyin: Cuī Tiānkǎi; born October 1952) is a Chinese diplomat and currently the Chinese Ambassador to the United States.

Biography

Born 1952 in Shanghai, China, Cui graduated from the School of Foreign Languages of East China Normal University. Following his graduation from East China Normal University, Cui studied interpretation at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. Following his studies in Beijing, Cui traveled with a Chinese delegation to the United Nations to work as an interpreter in the General Assembly. After working in the UN for five years, Cui returned to academia to pursue a postgraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.^[1]

After graduating from Johns Hopkins University, Cui joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first as a deputy director of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences and then spokesmen for the Information Department. In 1997, Cui was appointed Minister Counselor to the United Nations, a position he held until 1999. Cui continued to work with the Ministry throughout the next decade and held notable positions such as Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs, assistant minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador to Japan.^[2][3] In 2013, Cui was appointed by President Xi Jinping as the Ambassador to the United States.^[4]

Opinions

On March 6, 2013, Cui Tiankai was interviewed by reporters from China Youth Daily when he attended the National People's Congress. "The root cause of all problems in Sino-Japan relationship is that whether Japan can accept a powerful China." Cui said, "If Japan can realize and solve this problem in her mind, all the other problems can be solved easily."^[5]

On October 8, 2013, Cui Tiankai delivered a speech at the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He said some Japanese believe that: "During World War II, Japan was only defeated by United States and her atom bombs. Therefore, Japan only needs to get along well with United States while ignoring other nations." "This is a downright incorrect viewpoint." Cui emphasizes that, "Japan was defeated by all the peace-loving people including both Chinese and American people. There will be dire consequences if Japan is misled by incorrect viewpoints about past history."^[6]

In 2012, the case of the blind activist Chen Guangcheng triggered a diplomatic dispute between China and the US. Chen were permitted to study law in mainland China before going to the US for further studies. When Cui saw the shortlist of the universities that the Americans recommended, he roared: "There's no way he's going to East China Normal, I will not share an alma mater with that man!"^[7]

On July 12, 2016, Cui Tiankai spoke at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies following China's rejection of the ruling of an international tribunal arbitration case submit by the Philippines. He asserted that the attempt at arbitration was illegal as it was done without Chinese consent. Cui expressed his hope for future diplomatic resolutions to disputes in the South China Sea, also expressed a wish for further more successful joint developments and activities with other countries.^[8]

Controversies

During a meeting with Washington Governor Jay Inslee in April 2015, a group of protesters took down a Chinese flag flying outside the state capitol, which had been raised in honor of Cui's visit.^[9]

External links

• Biography from the English version of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
• China Vitae Biography

References

China's Ambassadors to the U.S.
Qing ministers to the U.S. 1875–1912	Chen Lanbin 1875–81 Zheng Zaoru 1881–85 Zhang Yinheng 1885–89 Cui Guoyin 1889–93 Yang Ru 1893–96 Wu Tingfang 1896–1902 Liang Cheng 1902–07 Wu Tingfang 1907–09 Zhang Yintang 1909–11 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1911–12
ROC's envoys to the U.S. 1912–35	Zhang Yintang 1912–13 Xia Xiefu 1913–15 V. K. Wellington Koo 1915–20 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1920–29 Wu Chaoshu 1929–31 Yan Huiqing 1931–33 Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1933–35
ROC's ambassadors to the U.S. 1935–79	Alfred Sao-ke Sze 1935–36 Wang Zhengting 1936–38 Hu Shih 1938–42 Wei Tao-ming 1942–46 Wellington Koo 1946–56 Hollington Tong 1956–58 George Yeh 1958–61 Tsiang Tingfu 1961–65 Zhou Shukai 1965–71 James Shen 1971–79
ROC's representatives to the U.S. 1979–present	Konsin Shah 1979–81 Cai Weiping 1981–82 Frederick Chien 1982–88 Ting Mao-shih 1988–94 Benjamin Lu 1994–96 Jason Hu 1996–97 Stephen S.F. Chen 1997–2000 Chen Chien-jen 2000–04 David Lee 2004–07 Joseph Wu 2007–08 Jason Yuan 2008–12 King Pu-tsung 2012–14 Shen Lyu-shun 2014–2016 Stanley Kao 2016–
Chiefs of the PRC Liaison Office in the U.S. 1973–79	Huang Zhen 1973–77 Chai Zemin 1978–79
PRC's ambassadors to the U.S. 1979–present	Chai Zemin 1979–82 Zhang Wenjin 1983–85 Han Xu 1985–89 Zhu Qizhen 1989–93 Li Daoyu 1993–98 Li Zhaoxing 1998–2001 Yang Jiechi 2001–05 Zhou Wenzhong 2005–10 Zhang Yesui 2010–13 Cui Tiankai 2013–present

China's Ambassadors to Japan
Chen Chu 1973–76 Fu Hao 1977–82 Song Zhiguang 1982–85 Zhang Shu 1985–83 Yang Zhenya 1988–93 Xu Dunxin 1993–98 Chen Jian 1998–2001 Wu Dawei 2001–04 Wang Yi 2004–07 Cui Tiankai 2007–09 Cheng Yonghua 2010–present