China’s longest US ambassador vacancy provides latest sign of bleak relations

Beijing has been without an ambassador in Washington for more than three months, the longest period since US-China relations normalised in 1979, a situation that reflects the dismal state of the nations’ ties and potentially signals a serious rethink of how it engages with the US.

The last time the post remained empty for a lengthy period was in June 1995 when Beijing recalled its ambassador, Li Daoyu, for two months after Washington allowed the Taiwanese president, Lee Teng-hui, to visit the US in advance of a tense election.