Cui Tiankai

Cui Tiankai
崔天凯
Cui Tiankai at the 23rd Session of the U.S. China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade press conference, 2012
Chinese Ambassador to the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office April 15, 2013
Preceded by	Zhang Yesui
Chinese Ambassador to Japan
In office October 9, 2007 – January 26, 2009
Preceded by	Wang Yi
Succeeded by	Cheng Yonghua
Personal details
Born	October 1952 (age 64) Shanghai, China
Political party	Communist Party of China
Alma mater	East China Normal University Beijing Foreign Studies University Johns Hopkins University

Cui Tiankai (Chinese: 崔天凯; pinyin: Cuī Tiānkǎi; born October 1952) is a Chinese diplomat and currently the Chinese Ambassador to the United States.

In 1952, Cui was born in Shanghai, China. He is a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China.

Cui graduated from the School of Foreign Languages of East China Normal University. Following his graduation from East China Normal University, Cui studied interpretation at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Following his studies in Beijing, Cui traveled with a Chinese delegation to the United Nations to work as an interpreter in the General Assembly. After working in the UN for five years, Cui returned to academia to pursue a postgraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.

After graduating from Johns Hopkins University, Cui joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first as a deputy director of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences and then spokesmen for the Information Department. In 1997, Cui was appointed Minister Counselor to the United Nations, a position he held until 1999. Cui continued to work with the Ministry throughout the next decade and held notable positions such as Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs, assistant minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador to Japan. In 2013, Cui was appointed by President Xi Jinping as the Ambassador to the United States.