London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

China’s ambassador to Britain set to retire

China’s ambassador to Britain set to retire

Replacement Zheng Zeguang is a US affairs specialist who had previously been seen as a contender to take charge in the Washington embassy.

China’s ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming will be retiring soon and replaced by foreign vice-minister Zheng Zeguang.

The development was announced by Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong’s delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, after a session of the committee on Saturday.

Zheng, 57, a US affairs specialist had been tipped to replace the current ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, 68, who has also reached retirement age.

Both Zheng and Liu are from Guangdong province. Zheng started his diplomatic career in 1986, and has concentrated on US issues since 1990.

He has served as the foreign ministry’s director of North American affairs and as a counsellor in the US embassy between 2005 and 2008. In 2015 he was promoted to foreign vice-minister.

Earlier this month he summoned the US chargé d’affaires Robert Forden to protest against US sanctions on 14 members of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee over the Hong Kong national security law, which critics say undermines the city’s freedoms and autonomy.

“Sending him to the UK means Zheng will not be posted to the US,” said Pang Zhongying, an international specialist at the Ocean University of China. “And it seems that Zheng has reached the top of his career with the posting to UK”.


Zheng Zeguang will take over the London posting.


Liu, 64, has been the envoy to the UK since 2010 and has become known for his outspoken defence of the country.

In 2013, he compared militarism in Japan as Lord Voldemort, the villain in the Harry Potter stories.

In July, Liu said the decision to ban the use of Huawei equipment in the national 5G mobile network is a “dark day for the UK because you will miss the opportunity to be a leading country in 5G”.

The change at the London embassy comes amid worsening relations between the two countries and diplomatic observers said Zheng will face a challenging task, especially in the wake of increased US pressure on Beijing and the recent Brexit deal.

China has also been angered by the British decision to give residency rights to Hongkongers who hold British National (Overseas) passports and a pathway to citizenship.

Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University, said the UK will need to focus on ties with both US and China to compensate for the possible loss of access to European markets following Brexit.

He said the financial services sector used to play a key part in China-UK relations, but this is now affected by the China-US rivalry and other factors.

“China is hoping to gain the support of those in the financial sector who advocate for doing business with China in the financial sector to counterebalance those who emphasis national security and siding with the US,” he said.

Joe Biden will not immediately change some of [Donald] Trump’s policies towards China after he takes office. China will have to watch Biden for a while and then choose the Chinese ambassador to the US when the time comes”.

Pang said China wants to maintain relations with the UK, as it holds the Group of Seven presidency next year and will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

“China will need to explore a new relationship with the UK after Brexit,” he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×