China Likely to Name U.S. Specialist as Next Ambassador to Washington

Beijing has been recalibrating its foreign policy in a bid to stabilize fraught ties with Washington and mitigate damage done to China’s global standing by its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and forceful pursuit of security, industrial and territorial interests, according to people working inside the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The hard-charging ethos that took hold among Chinese diplomats during the Trump administration, when Beijing saw itself as being under assault from the West, needs to be adjusted to reflect a changing international environment, they said.

The shift has begun to show up in recent and coming foreign-policy appointments, which put veteran diplomats—known for their ability to balance combativeness with cordiality—in key positions to manage Beijing’s foreign relations. 

Mr. Xie, 58 years old, is regarded by both colleagues and foreign counterparts as a firm and evenhanded conduit between China and the U.S. He helped arrange a high-profile summit between Chinese leader

Xi Jinping

and President

Biden

in November, and served as Beijing’s point man in complex negotiations on a 2021 prisoner-exchange deal that yielded China’s release of two Canadian citizens in return for ending U.S. efforts to extradite a well-connected Chinese executive detained in Canada. 

A decision to name Mr. Xie envoy to the U.S. hasn’t been formalized, but there are no other strong candidates, said the people familiar with the matter. Beijing would need to submit Mr. Xie’s name for Washington’s agreement before officially appointing him.