Ma Zhaoxu (also spelled as Ma Chao-hsü; ; born 1 September 1963) is a Chinese diplomat, currently serving as the Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs with the Minister rank since January 2023. He previously served as the ambassador of China to Australia, as the spokesman for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(PRC), and as the

director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of its Information Department. He also served as the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations (UN) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from January 2018 to July 2019.

Early life

Ma Zhaoxu was born in

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

province in September 1963. He graduated from

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

with a degree in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. In 1986, he participated in the inaugural Asian college students

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

competition organized by the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and won the "best debater" award, becoming well known to PRC college students at the time.

Career

Ma joined the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1987 and served in various departments and embassies, including counselor at the PRC embassy in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 2001 to 2002 and counselor at the PRC embassy in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

from 2002 to 2004. He was appointed deputy director of the

Policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

Planning Department in 2004 and director in 2006. In January 2009, he replaced Liu Jianchao as the director-general of the Information Department as well as the head spokesperson of the ministry. In April 2010, as spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ma stated that “there are no dissidents in China”, while China responds disapprovingly to the Nobel prize having been awarded to incarcerated Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. On 6 April 2016, he was appointed as the Permanent Representative of the China to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) and other International Organizations. In 2018, Ma succeeded Liu Jieyi as China's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York. Ma was recalled back to China and appointed Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs on July 15, 2019. As vice minister, he is responsible for managing international organizations and conferences, international economy and arms control affairs. On 13 January 2023, Ma was appointed to the role of Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs taking charge of all daily working affairs. This position is equivalent to a ministerial-level rank.

Personal life

Ma is married with one daughter and two grandchildren. His daughter attended Beijing Jingshan School, graduated from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

References

External links

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu's biography
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Zhaoxu 1963 births Living people Chinese Communist Party politicians from Heilongjiang People's Republic of China politicians from Heilongjiang Ambassadors of China to Australia Peking University alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Permanent representatives of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Diplomats of the People's Republic of China

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links