Tang Jiaxuan

唐家璇

1938–present

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (1998–2003)

Biography

Tang Jiaxuan (born 1938) is a Chinese diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China from 1998 to 2003. Following the NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May 1999, he summoned the US Ambassador to China on behalf of the Chinese government to lodge a strong protest, demanding a formal apology, a thorough investigation of responsibility, and full compensation — making him the principal Chinese official responsible for managing the diplomatic response to the crisis. During his tenure he also participated in bilateral negotiations on China's WTO accession and in a series of high-level diplomatic exchanges on the Taiwan question.

Related Events (1)

1999-05-07

NATO Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade

NATO aircraft struck the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo War, killing three journalists and injuring dozens; NATO called it a targeting error, but the incident unleashed nationalist protests across China and severely damaged Sino-American relations.

diplomatic