Who is he?

Yang Jiechi served as China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for the past six years. A career diplomat, Yang has spent eight of his 35 years in the Chinese Foreign Ministry working in various positions at the PRC Embassy in Washington, D.C., including a stint as ambassador from 2000-2004.

Yang is a seasoned official who has been a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) elite Central Committee since (2007). A native of Shanghai, Yang is a graduate of the London School of Economics and earned his PhD in history from Nanjing University in China’s Jiangsu Province.

Yang Jiechi during his time as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Source: Kaveh Sardari. All rights reserved.

Why is he in the news?

Yang’s promotion to succeed Dai Bingguo as the state councilor in charge of foreign affairs was announced this weekend during the first session of the 12^th National People’s Congress (NPC). Yang seemed destined to retire a year ago, but he appears to have received strong support from influential party figures, such as former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, for his advancement. His elevation is one of  several finishing-touch personnel changes unveiled at the NPC that complete China’s once-in-a-decade leadership transition and that shape the team that will  assist new President Xi Jinping in carrying out his vision  for addressing China’s most pressing domestic and foreign challenges.

In Yang’s new role as one of only five state councilors, he will serve as the chief implementer of Beijing’s foreign policy strategy. With the simultaneous selection of Wang Yi as the country’s new Foreign Minister, Yang’s appointment brings China’s entire foreign affairs establishment back under the supervision of officials whose primary bureaucratic pedigree is with the Foreign Ministry, in contrast to Dai Bingguo’s long service in the organ overseeing the CCP’s relations with foreign political parties.

What can we expect from him?

Yang’s decades of foreign policy experience, command of U.S.-China relations, and fluent English skills equip him to play an active role in advising China’s top decision makers. Yang is known for his occasionally strident tone during talks with foreign officials. During an ASEAN Regional Forum meeting in 2010, for example, Yang responded to complaints about China’s perceived assertive behavior in the South China Sea by saying, “China is a big country, and other countries are small countries, and that is just a fact.”

Maintaining stable relations with the United States will be one of Yang’s top priorities. He will be paired with new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in managing the strategic track of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.