The Embassy of the United States in Beijing is the diplomatic mission of the United States in China. It serves as the administrative office of the United States Ambassador to China. The embassy complex is in Chaoyang, Beijing.[1]

Quick Facts Location, Address ...
Embassy of the United States, Beijing
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Embassy as seen from above
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LocationChina Beijing, China
Address55 Anjialou Road, Chaoyang, Beijing
Coordinates39°9′53″N 116°4′59″E
AmbassadorR. Nicholas Burns
Websitechina.usembassy-china.org.cn
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In addition to Beijing, it covers the municipalities of Tianjin and Chongqing and the provinces of Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Yunnan.[2]

History

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Perspective
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Photograph taken inside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing of Ambassador Gary Locke with Chen Guangcheng

The current U.S. Embassy in Beijing was opened and dedicated on August 8, 2008, by U.S. President George W. Bush[3] and is the third largest American diplomatic mission in the world, after the Embassy of the United States, Baghdad and the Embassy of the United States, Yerevan. The U.S. embassy had its origins in 1935 when the legation was upgraded into the embassy in Nanjing. However, the central government of the nationalists was relocated to Taipei in 1949 due to the Chinese Civil War and the embassy was reopened in 1953. On January 1, 1979, the embassy was transferred to Beijing after normalizing relations with the communist government on the mainland.[4]

The 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2), eight story facility incorporates a great deal of free-standing transparent and opaque glass in its design. It is located on a 10-acre (4.0 ha) plot of land. The embassy warehouse is located in the Beijing Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone in Shunyi District.[5]

Since the embassy is legally out of reach of the Government of China, it was used as the hiding place of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng after he escaped from house arrest.[6]

Principal officers

Ambassadors

Deputy Chiefs of Mission (DCM)

More information Name, Portrait ...
Name Portrait Start of term End of term
J. Stapleton Roy Thumb 1979 1981[7][8]
Chas W. Freeman, Jr. Thumb 1981 1984[9]
Herbert E. Horowitz Thumb 1984 1986[10]
Peter Tomsen Thumb 1986 1989[11]
Raymond Burghardt
(acting)
Thumb 1989 1989[12][13]
B. Lynn Pascoe Thumb 1989[12] 1992[a]
Scott S. Hallford 1992[a] 1996[16]
William C. McCahill, Jr. 1996 1999
G. Eugene Martin 1999 2000[17]
Michael W. Marine Thumb September 2000 June 2004[18]
David S. Sedney Thumb 2004 2007[19]
Dan Piccuta May 2007[20] January 2009
William Weinstein
(Acting)
January 2009[21] July 2009[22]:74
Robert Goldberg July 2009[22]:74 2011[22]:5
Robert S. Wang Thumb January 2011 August 2013[23]
Daniel Kritenbrink Thumb July 2013 2015[24]
David H. Rank January 2016[25] January 2017
Julie L. Kavanagh
(Acting)
January 2017[26][27] June 2017[26]
Jonathan Fritz
(Acting)
Thumb June 2017[28] 2018
Robert W. Forden Thumb July 2018 October 2020[29]
William Klein
(Acting)
Thumb October 2020[30] October 2021
Bobby Richey
(Acting)
Thumb October 2021[31]
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See also

Notes

  1. State Department records for foreign service list indicates that Deputy Chief of Mission in Beijing changed from B. Lynn Pascoe to Scott S. Hallford between Spring 1992 and Fall 1992.[14][15]

References

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