<p>US ambassador to China Terry Branstad is stepping down, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday, at a time of increasingly strained ties between the world's two biggest economies.</p>.<p>Thanking Branstad for his service, Pompeo said in a tweet that he had "contributed to rebalancing US-China relations so that it is results-oriented, reciprocal, and fair."</p>.<p>The reasons for the ambassador's departure were not immediately clear, and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- while acknowledging Pompeo's tweet -- said it had not received notice of his resignation.</p>.<p>The 73-year-old -- who previously served as governor of Iowa for more than 20 years across two spells -- had been in his post since May 2017, representing Washington in Beijing during a period when tensions with China were heightened over trade, regional territorial claims, the coronavirus pandemic, and unrest in Hong Kong.</p>.<p>In June, he was summoned by Beijing after President Donald Trump signed a law that paved the way for sanctions over Hong Kong, an action the foreign ministry slammed as "gross interference in China's internal affairs."</p>.<p>Last year, he called on Beijing to open a "substantive dialogue" with the Dalai Lama during a rare visit to Tibet, a region where the central government is accused of widespread repression.</p>.<p>An early supporter of Trump's run for the White House in 2016, Branstad was appointed soon after the election.</p>.<p>At the time, Trump's transition team praised his "tremendous understanding of China and Chinese people."</p>.<p>He was reported to have a long-standing relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he first met in the 1980s.</p>
<p>US ambassador to China Terry Branstad is stepping down, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday, at a time of increasingly strained ties between the world's two biggest economies.</p>.<p>Thanking Branstad for his service, Pompeo said in a tweet that he had "contributed to rebalancing US-China relations so that it is results-oriented, reciprocal, and fair."</p>.<p>The reasons for the ambassador's departure were not immediately clear, and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- while acknowledging Pompeo's tweet -- said it had not received notice of his resignation.</p>.<p>The 73-year-old -- who previously served as governor of Iowa for more than 20 years across two spells -- had been in his post since May 2017, representing Washington in Beijing during a period when tensions with China were heightened over trade, regional territorial claims, the coronavirus pandemic, and unrest in Hong Kong.</p>.<p>In June, he was summoned by Beijing after President Donald Trump signed a law that paved the way for sanctions over Hong Kong, an action the foreign ministry slammed as "gross interference in China's internal affairs."</p>.<p>Last year, he called on Beijing to open a "substantive dialogue" with the Dalai Lama during a rare visit to Tibet, a region where the central government is accused of widespread repression.</p>.<p>An early supporter of Trump's run for the White House in 2016, Branstad was appointed soon after the election.</p>.<p>At the time, Trump's transition team praised his "tremendous understanding of China and Chinese people."</p>.<p>He was reported to have a long-standing relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he first met in the 1980s.</p>