Amid Washington-Beijing tensions, US Ambassador to China ‘stepping down’

It was during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Iowa several decades ago when Terry Branstad first forged ties with him.

Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday suggested that US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad is stepping down. Pompeo’s tweets came amidst strained ties between Washington and Beijing.

Taking to Twitter, Pompeo thanked 73-year-old Branstad for his service, saying that he had "contributed to rebalancing U.S.-China relations so that it is results-oriented, reciprocal, and fair."

“This will have lasting, positive effects on U.S. foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific for decades to come,” added Pompeo.

The US Secretary of State, in another tweet, said that US President Donald Trump had selected Branstad for the post “because his decades long experience dealing with China made him the best person to represent the Administration and to defend American interests and ideals in this important relationship”. It is important to note that Branstad had backed Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy in 2016.

No word on the reason behind the ambassador's departure has come out yet. Notably, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has not received notice of Branstad’s resignation.

Terry Branstad, the former governor of Iowa, had been serving as US Ambassador to China since May 2017. Meanwhile, the CNN news network cited an unnamed source as saying that Branstad is likely to leave before the US Presidential Election to be held in November.

The tensions between US and China have escalated over regional territorial claims, trade, COVID-19 pandemic, and unrest in Hong Kong.

Beijing had summoned Branstad in June after US President Donald Trump signed a law that paved the way for sanctions over Hong Kong. China’s Foreign Ministry had slammed the move as "gross interference” in the Asian country’s internal affairs.

In 2019, Branstad had visited Tibet and urged China to open a "substantive dialogue" with the Dalai Lama.

Of late, Branstad was embroiled in a controversy when China's People's Daily newspaper rejected to publish an opinion column. Pompeo had tweeted last week that China's ruling Communist Party refused to publish Branstad's op-ed while the Chinese Ambassador to the United States “is free to publish in any US media outlet”.

To this, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian had claimed that Branstad's article was “full of loopholes, seriously inconsistent with facts and wantonly attacks and smears China".