Cui Tiankai

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Cui.

Cui Tiankai
崔天凯
200px Cui Tiankai at the 23rd Session of the U.S. China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade press conference, 2012
Chinese Ambassador to the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office April 15, 2013
Preceded by	Zhang Yesui
Chinese Ambassador to Japan
In office October 9, 2007 – January 26, 2009
Preceded by	Wang Yi
Succeeded by	Cheng Yonghua
Personal details
Born	October 1952 (age 72) Shanghai, China
Political party	Communist Party of China
Alma mater	East China Normal University Beijing Foreign Studies University Johns Hopkins University

Cui Tiankai (born October 1952) is a Chinese diplomat and currently the Chinese Ambassador to the United States.

Biography

Born 1952 in Zhejiang Province, 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.

After graduating from John 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, Ciu 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, Ciu was appointed by President Xi Jinping as the Ambassador to the United States.

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."

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."

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!"

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.

External links

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

References

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Wang Yi	Chinese Ambassador to Japan 2007-2010	Succeeded by Cheng Yonghua