Beijing appoints former ambassador Cui Jianchun as nation’s top diplomat in Hong Kong
- Decision marks end to position’s vacancy since July of last year, when former incumbent Liu Guangyuan was transferred to Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong
- Cui previously served as China’s ambassador to Nigeria, as well as Guyana and Kuwait
Beijing has appointed former ambassador Cui Jianchun as the nation’s top diplomat in Hong Kong, filling a post that has been vacant since last July, with an analyst saying the move signals a lesser need for the city-based office-holder to engage with the West.
Cui’s appointment as commissioner of the foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong was announced by Xinhua news agency on Wednesday.
The position had been left vacant for months after Liu Guangyuan was transferred to Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong to serve as deputy director.
Deputy commissioner Li Yongsheng had temporarily taken on the top role since last September, attending an event held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on Monday as acting commissioner.
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu welcomed Cui’s appointment.
“As a veteran diplomat, Mr Cui Jianchun has significant experience in overseas assignments,” he said.
“[I] firmly believe that under Mr Cui’s leadership, the [commissioner’s office] will continue to work closely with the [Hong Kong] government in taking forward different areas of work.”
The chief executive also said local authorities would dovetail with the foreign ministry’s strategies to “tell good stories” about Hong Kong overseas and promote the “one country, two systems” governing principle.
Cui was China’s ambassador to Nigeria until last month.
Beijing’s top man in Hong Kong to brief officials, lawmakers on ‘two sessions’
He was ambassador to the South American country of Guyana between 2017 and 2021. He was also China’s top diplomat in Kuwait from 2012 to 2015.
Cui worked in a variety of roles in the China National Nuclear Corporation for 23 years, including as head of the state-owned enterprise’s international cooperation department, before he switched to a diplomatic career in 2011.
Lau Siu-kai, a consultant at the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said Cui had sufficient diplomatic competence to counter the external challenges facing Hong Kong, which lay on the “front line” of US-China conflicts.
He said Cui’s scant track record of working in Western countries should not be a concern. “Generally speaking, envoys assigned abroad are generalists who are used to implementing the central government’s foreign policies. They will also be assisted by other senior diplomats.”
Veteran political observer Johnny Lau Yui-siu said the choice of a diplomat with experience of Nigeria might indicate Beijing valued Hong Kong’s role in the Belt and Road Initiative, while there was a lesser need for the city-based commissioner to engage with Western stakeholders.
“Real negotiations with Europe and the United States must now be done by Beijing and the role for the commissioner’s office in Hong Kong to liaise [with the West] is no longer that important,” Lau said.
