Yang Jiechi

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yang.

Yang Jiechi 杨洁篪
State Councilor of the People's Republic of China
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 March 2013 Serving with Yang Jing, Chang Wanquan, Guo Shengkun, Wang Yong
Premier	Li Keqiang
Secretary-general of the Foreign Affairs Leading Group
Incumbent
Assumed office March, 2013
Leader	Xi Jinping
Preceded by	Dai Bingguo
Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China
In office 27 April 2007 – 16 March 2013
Premier	Wen Jiabao
Deputy	Zhang Zhijun
Preceded by	Li Zhaoxing
Succeeded by	Wang Yi
Personal details
Born	May 1950 (age 62–63) Shanghai, China
Political party	Communist Party of China
Spouse(s)	Le Aimei
Alma mater	University of Bath London School of Economics Nanjing University
Signature

Yang Jiechi
Traditional Chinese	楊潔篪
Simplified Chinese	杨洁篪
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Yáng Jiéchí

Yang Jiechi (born May 1950) is a high-ranking Chinese politician and lifelong professional diplomat. He was the tenth Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, between 2007 and 2013. He joined the inner circle of the State Council in 2013, as a State Councilor under Premier Li Keqiang. In this capacity, he serves as one of the most prominent architects of China's foreign policy.

A native of Shanghai, Yang holds a Ph. D. in History from Nanjing University and also studied at the London School of Economics. Yang spent much of his professional life in the United States, where he served as Chinese Ambassador from 2001 to 2005.

Biography

Early life and education

Yang was born in Shanghai in May 1950. He received his Doctor degree in history from Nanjing University. He graduated from Shanghai Foreign Language School and attended the University of Bath and the London School of Economics from 1973 to 1975.

Diplomatic career

Yang Jiechi with the United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

He previously served as a diplomat in the United States, beginning as a Second Secretary in 1983 and later as Ambassador from 2001 to 2005, and as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for Latin America and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

During his tenure as ambassador to the United States, Yang worked to ease the tensions between the two countries following the 2001 mid-air collision between a U.S. EP-3 spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet off the coast of Hainan Island in the South China Sea.

Yang Jiechi and the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva

Foreign minister

In April 2007, Yang replaced Li Zhaoxing, who had served as China's foreign minister since 2003, as the tenth foreign minister of China. As it is traditional for China's cabinet ministers to retire at the age of 65, Yang, who was 57 in 2007, is expected to hold China's top diplomatic post past 2012.

In July 2010 at the ASEAN Ministers Conference in Hanoi, Yang, responding to remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, called the remarks "an attack on China" and told Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo that "China is a big country and other countries are small countries, and that's just a fact." However, Yang issued a statement on the Foreign Ministry's Web site saying that there was no need to internationalize the issue, that China was still intent on solving all of the disputes bilaterally.

In a meeting with Australia's foreign minister Bob Carr, Yang criticized the decision to put US Marines in Australia's Northern Territory by stating to Carr "Cold War alliances" were out of date, to which Carr "reminded Yang that Chinese leaders like to relate the story of the Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He who took powerful Chinese fleets as far afield as India and Arabia but sought to occupy no lands".

In 2013, Yang Jiechi met with Japan's new ambassador to China and leader of Japan's New Komeito party. Yang also held group meetings with ambassadors from EU and its member states. He also met with Moo-sung Kim, Special envoy of South Korea's president-elect Park Geun-hye, to strengthen ties with South Korea. Yang has also made pledges for more contribution to world peace.

State councilor

At the first plenary session of the 12th National People's Congress in March 2013, Yang Jiechi was elected as State Councilor.

Honors

Yang Jiechi received an honorary degree from the Geneva School of Diplomacy in 2009. It was announced by the President of Pakistan on 14 August 2012 that Hilal-i-Pakistan (Crescent of Pakistan) will be given to Yang Jiechi on 23 March 2013.

See also

• Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China
• People's Republic of China diplomatic missions
• Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China

External links

• Biography of Yang Jiechi, China Vitae.
• Biography of Yang Jiechi, Xinhuanet.
• Foreign Ministry Profile
• Foreign Minister's Profile

Party political offices
Preceded by Dai Bingguo	Secretary-general of the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group 2013 March－	Incumbent
	Secretary-general of the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs 2013 March－
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Li Zhaoxing	Chinese Ambassador to the United States 2001–2005	Succeeded by Zhou Wenzhong
Government offices
Preceded by Li Zhaoxing	Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China 2007–2013	Succeeded by Wang Yi