Editorial | Cui Tiankai, the diplomatic role model, will be a hard act to follow
- Confirmation that China’s man in Washington is leaving after 8 years need not mean his expertise and experience will go to waste
The public has a better idea of what spies and soldiers do for their country’s security and core interests than the role of diplomats. Even China’s more hawkish diplomacy has made little difference.
They still serve mostly under the radar.
An exception is China’s retiring veteran ambassador to Washington, Cui Tiankai. He is a role model for traditional diplomacy who, nonetheless, has stood out amid unrelenting tension in bilateral relations.
His shoes will be hard to fill.
Cui has confirmed he is leaving Washington after eight years as China’s longest-serving ambassador to the United States, including three years beyond the normal retirement age of 65 for his rank. That alone secures his part in the world’s most important bilateral relationship.
