Xie Feng, China’s new ambassador to the U.S., delivers a speech Tuesday evening at the Chinese embassy in Washington. Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the U.S.

Xie speaks to the media after landing at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the U.S.

Huang Zhen attends an opening ceremony for a Chinese goods exhibition in Paris in 1965. Huang, who was China’s Ambassador to France at the time, went to the U.S. in 1971, becoming chairman of the People’s Republic of China Liaison Office (PRCLO) in Washington. Photo: VCG

Chai Zemin assumed the role of director of the PRCLO in Washington in 1978 to take part in the negotiations to normalize diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. In March 1979, Chai became China’s first ambassador to the U.S. following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Photo: Screenshot from Zhejiang Satellite TV

Zhang Wenjin served as China’s ambassador to the U.S. from March 1983 to April 1985. Photo: VCG

Han Xu (left) and his wife Ge Qiyun pose for a photo in 1988 with the 41st president of the U.S., George H.W. Bush, and his wife Barbara. Han served as China’s ambassador to the U.S. from May 1985 to August 1989. Photo: Courtesy of CCTV

Zhu Qizhen was appointed China’s ambassador to the U.S. in 1989 and served until 1993. Photo: VCG

Li Daoyu, who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in 1952, became China’s ambassador to the U.S. in April 1993. He served in the position until February 1998. Photo: VCG

Li Zhaoxing, a former Chinese foreign minister, shakes hands with then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington in September 2003. Li served as China’s ambassador to the U.S. from March 1998 to January 2001. Photo: VCG

China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi speaks during the China-U.S. High-level Strategic Dialogue in March 2021. Yang, considered one of the most prominent architects of China’s modern foreign policy, was the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. from 2001 to 2005. Photo: People’s Government of Guizhou

Then-U.S. President Barack Obama visits the Great Wall in 2009. He was accompanied by Zhou Wenzhong, who served as ambassador to the U.S. from 2005 to 2010. Photo: Courtesy of the Boao Forum for Asia

Zhang Yesui was the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. from March 2010 to February 2013. Photo: VCG

Cui Tiankai (right) speaks with then-U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross during a Lunar New Year celebration in 2019. Cui served as China’s ambassador to the U.S. from March 2013 to June 2021. Photo: VCG

Qin Gang meets a group of “young ambassadors” from Brigham Young University in the U.S. state of Utah in November. Qin became the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. in 2021. He left the position on Jan. 5 after being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the U.S.