PERSON: Cui Tiankai

Government of the People’s Republic of China

Former Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the United States

Cui Tiankai ( born October 1952) is a Chinese diplomat and was the longest-serving Chinese Ambassador to the United States, a role he filled from April 2013 to June 2021.

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, D.C.

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 as spokesman 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. In 2013, Cui was selected by the 12th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, then appointed by President Xi Jinping as the Ambassador to the United States, pursuant to the National People’s Congress decision. On 22 June 2021, after eight years, he announced that he would leave the position.

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