China formally confirmed Li Chenggang’s appointment as its top top trade negotiator, removing him from his previous post as permanent representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), reported state news agency Xinhua on Monday.
The announcement was part of a routine list of ambassadorial changes approved by President Xi Jinping. Although Li’s appointment as the lead international trade negotiator was initially made in April, the formal removal from his WTO post comes at a time of escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.
The timing of this announcement is significant. In recent weeks, the US imposed sweeping 100% tariffs on all Chinese goods, while Beijing responded by imposing export curbs on rare earths and critical materials.
Who is Li Chenggang?
58-year-old Li Chenggang, formerly the WTO envoy and assistant minister of commerce, has been a key figure in four successive rounds of US-China trade talks and also worked towards preventing a full-blown trade war, Reuters reported.
A graduate of Peking University and Germany’s Hamburg University, Li has an extensive knowledge of WTO laws, having previously held key roles in the commerce ministry, including in departments overseeing treaties and law and fair trade.
Li’s unexpected appointment as chief negotiator in April came just days after Beijing announced 125% retaliatory tariffs on US imports, replacing veteran trade negotiator Wang Shouwen.
Controversy with US official
Li was recently called out by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a public event, where Bessent described Li as “unhinged” last week.
Bessant also said “perhaps the vice minister who showed up here with very incendiary language on Aug. 28 has gone rogue,” adding that this individual was very “disrespectful,” Reuters reported.
Li’s August visit to Washington ruffled feathers in the Trump administration, because he arrived uninvited, demanded senior-level meetings, “restated China’s false narratives and lectured the Americans,” the news agency said.
Scott Bessent has since sought to de-escalate tensions ahead of an expected summit of President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this month at the APEC summit in South Korea.
New WTO representative
Following Li Chenggang’s reassignment, Li Yongjie has now taken over as China’s representative to the WTO. She officially presented her credentials on 29 September, the trade body said on its Weibo social media account.
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