China’s new ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, speaks to the media upon arrival at JFK Airport in New York City, May 23, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
China’s new ambassador to the United States arrived in New York on Tuesday, calling for “safeguarding China’s interests,” according to a release from the Chinese embassy in the United States.
Xie Feng took office for about six months, during which time China did not have an ambassador to the United States. He most recently served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Xie said on Tuesday that bilateral relations faced “serious difficulties and challenges” and that his mission was to “strengthen Sino-U.S. exchanges and cooperation,” the press release said in English.
The State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Former ambassador Qin Gang was promoted to China’s new foreign minister last December. Earlier this month, Qin met the US ambassador to China, Burns, for the first time in Beijing.
Tensions between the two countries escalated in February after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon that it said flew over U.S. airspace. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had planned to visit Beijing at the time, but decided to postpone the trip after the hot air balloon incident.
Over the weekend, U.S. President Joe Biden said those tensions would “begin to ease soon.”
“We don’t intend to decouple from China, we want to reduce risk and diversify our relationship with China,” Biden told reporters after the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, according to a White House transcript.
The most optimistic “thaw” scenario is that the relationship between the two countries stops deteriorating.
He did not discuss potential new rules that would restrict U.S. companies from investing in advanced Chinese technology.
“The most optimistic ‘thaw’ scenario is that the deterioration in relations between the two countries stops,” Gabriel Wildau, managing director of consultancy Teneo, said in a report. This pause will be significant for the market and for multinational companies.”
“Even without specific policy changes, the general feeling that the downward spiral has stopped could reduce risk perception and free up new investment.”