beijing
China on Wednesday unexpectedly appointed a new trade negotiator key in any talks to resolve the escalating tariff war with the United States, replacing veteran trade tsar Wang Shouwen with its envoy to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Li Chenggang, 58, a former assistant commerce minister during the first administration of US President Donald Trump, takes over from Wang, 59, the human resources and social security ministry said in a statement.
It was unclear if Wang, who assumed the No 2 role at the commerce ministry in 2022, had taken up a post elsewhere. His name was no longer on the ministry’s leadership team, according to the ministry’s website as of Wednesday.
The ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the change, which was not explained in the human resources ministry’s statement.
Wang was regarded as a tough negotiator and had clashed with US officials in previous meetings, said a source in Beijing’s foreign business community.
“He’s a bulldog, very intense,” said the source, declining to be named.
