List of ambassadors of the United States to China
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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.
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:
- Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of China: 1913 to 1935
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of China: 1935 to 1979
- Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan: 1979 to present
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
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List of envoys to the Republic of China
| Name | Portrait | Home state | Presented credentials | Terminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William J. Calhoun | File:Portrait of William J. Calhoun.jpg | Illinois | April 21, 1910 | February 26, 1913Template:NoteTag |
| Paul Samuel Reinsch | File:Portrait of Paul Samuel Reinsch.jpg | Wisconsin | November 15, 1913 | September 15, 1919 |
| Charles Richard Crane | File:Portrait of Charles Richard Crane.jpg | Illinois | June 12, 1920 | July 2, 1921 |
| Jacob Gould Schurman | File:June 1925 photo, Bundesarchiv Bild 102-09830, Jacob Gould Schurman (cropped).jpg | New York | September 12, 1921 | April 15, 1925 |
| John Van Antwerp MacMurray | File:John Van Antwerp MacMurray restored.jpg | New Jersey | July 15, 1925 | November 22, 1929Template:NoteTag |
| Nelson T. Johnson | File:Nelson T. Johnson cph.3c35451.jpg | Oklahoma | February 1, 1930 | September 17, 1935 |
| George Marshall | File:George C. Marshall, U.S. Secretary of State.jpg | Virginia | December 20, 1945 | January 1947 |
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List of ambassadors to the Republic of China
| Name | Portrait | Birthplace | Presented credentials | Terminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson T. Johnson | File:Nelson T. Johnson cph.3c35451.jpg | Oklahoma | September 17, 1935 | May 14, 1941 |
| Clarence E. Gauss | File:Clarence Gauss.png | Connecticut | May 26, 1941 | November 14, 1944 |
| Patrick J. Hurley | File:PJayHurl.jpg | Oklahoma | January 8, 1945 | September 22, 1945 |
| John Leighton Stuart | File:John Leighton Stuart1948.jpg | Zhejiang Province | July 19, 1946 | August 2, 1949 |
Script error: No such module "anchor".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 | File:American Ambassador Karl Rankin 藍欽大使.jpg | Maine | April 2, 1953 | December 30, 1957 |
| Everett F. Drumright | File:Photograph of Everett F. Drumright 59-SO-82-VS-540-58.jpg | Oklahoma | March 8, 1958 | March 8, 1962 |
| Alan G. Kirk | File:Alan g kirk.jpg | New York | July 5, 1962 | January 18, 1963 |
| Jerauld Wright | File:U.S. Ambassador Jerauld Wright 美國大使賴特.jpg | District of Columbia | June 29, 1963 | July 25, 1965 |
| Walter P. McConaughy | File:Photograph of Walter P. McConaughy 59-SO-186-VS-255-53.jpg | Alabama | June 28, 1966 | April 4, 1974 |
| Leonard S. Unger | File:Photograph of Leonard S. Unger 59-SO-335-VS-1078-62.jpg | 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 | File:David K. E. Bruce.jpg | Virginia | May 14, 1973 | September 25, 1974 |
| George H. W. Bush | File:DCI George Bush.jpg | Texas | September 26, 1974 | December 7, 1975 |
| Thomas S. Gates Jr. | File:Thomas S Gates Jr..jpg | Pennsylvania | May 6, 1976 | May 8, 1977 |
| Leonard Woodcock | File:Leonard F. Woodcock.jpg | Michigan | July 26, 1977 | March 7, 1979Template:NoteTag |
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.
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See also
- Embassy of the United States, Beijing
- China–United States relations
- Foreign relations of China
- Ambassadors of the United States
- Americans in China
Notes
References
Citations
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Sources
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External links
- United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for China
- United States Department of State: China
- United States Embassy in Beijing
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