The revised designs for the US embassy in Beijing and consulate in Chengdu. Photo: Handout
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https://scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3097064/us-china-relations-new-look-seals-american-missions-spark Diplomacy
US-China relations: new-look seals for American missions spark online rumours
- Word ‘China’ removed from design of emblems used by US embassy in Beijing and its five consulates in the country
- ‘Redesign being rolled out at US embassies worldwide,’ spokesman says
The new US mission seal (left) next to the old-look seal (right). Photo: US embassy China
The United States has dismissed suggestions of political motivations behind a change to the official seals for its overseas missions after the alterations ignited speculation on Chinese social media this week.
The US Department of State released the new designs on its website on Monday. The main change involved the removal of the word “China”, so that the various embassy and consulate seals now feature the US coat of arms and the relevant location, such as Beijing or Chengdu.
Chinese internet users were quick to speculate as to the motivation for the changes.
“What does the change of the seal mean? Does it mean the US wants to play a game of who represents China?” one commenter wrote on Weibo.
Another said the design tweak was evidence the US was planning to set up a formal embassy in Taipei, though failed to provide any evidence to support that idea.
The changes came as US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was visiting Taiwan. He is the highest ranking American official to visit the self-ruled island since Washington severed ties with Taipei, in favour of Beijing, in 1979.
But Jeffrey Loree, the counsellor for public affairs at the US embassy in Beijing, dismissed the online speculation, saying the rewording of the Chinese emblems was part of a wider redesign of all American mission seals and had nothing to do with the poor state of US-China relations.
“This is a redesign being rolled out at US embassies worldwide,” he said.
In China, the new look applies to the seals for the US embassy in Beijing and its five consulates, including the Chengdu mission which was ordered to close by China last month.
Digital versions of all the new designs are available for download from the US state department’s website.
A statement at the top of the page reads: “The US-China relationship is the most consequential in the world today. It is a dynamic and growing relationship built upon a foundation of mutual trust and respect, growing trade and people-to-people exchange.”