Terry Branstad, U.S. Ambassador to China, Is Stepping Down

HONG KONG—Terry Branstad is stepping down as U.S. ambassador to China, ending a far more than a few-calendar year tenure at the forefront of Washington’s ever more strained partnership with Beijing.

Secretary of Condition Mike Pompeo thanked Mr. Branstad in a sequence of tweets on Monday, stating the envoy had “contributed to rebalancing U.S.-China relations so that it is final results-oriented, reciprocal, and fair.”

Mr. Branstad, a Republican whose 6 terms as governor of Iowa above two stints made him the longest-serving governor in U.S. heritage, is owing to leave Beijing in early October and return to Iowa, according to a assertion from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. He spoke to President Trump by cellphone past 7 days to validate his determination to retire, the assertion claimed.

The approach of appointing a new ambassador to China is predicted to just take months. Robert Forden, the U.S. deputy chief of mission in Beijing, will oversee the embassy as chargé d’affaires right until a new envoy arrives, according to a human being briefed on the make any difference.

A spokesman for China’s Overseas Ministry claimed Beijing has not been given any notification on Mr. Branstad’s departure.