Zhang Qiyue (; born October 1959) is a retired Chinese diplomat who served as ambassador to

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 ...

(2005–08),

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

(2008–12), and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(2018–21). She is a member of the 13th

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is the national-level organization that represents the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the political advisory body in the People's Republic ...

Biography

Zhang was born in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

in October 1959, to Zhang Shu, and Xue Runwu (), both diplomats. In 1974, Zhang and four other students were selected and sent to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to study English, becoming the first batch of students from the People's Republic of China to study in the United States. Zhang returned to China in 1977 and entered

Beijing Foreign Studies University Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. The Internation ...

. After graduation in 1982, Zhang was admitted to the United Nations Interpreter Training Course, and then worked as a simultaneous interpreter at the United Nations headquarters 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 ...

and the Secretariat of the United Nations Office in Geneva. Zhang joined the foreign service in 1987 and was assigned to the Chinese delegation to the United Nations in 1995. At the end of 1998, Zhang returned to China and became deputy director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, concurrently serving as

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China is the first-ranked Ministries of the People's Republic of China, executive department of the State Council of China, responsible for the country's Foreign relations of China, f ...

since 26 January 1999. Zhang was the third spokeswoman since the position was established in the ministry in 1983. In February 2005, Zhang was appointed as Chinese ambassador to Belgium, taking over from . President

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...

appointed Zhang Chinese ambassador to Indonesia in August 2008, according to a decision of the

11th National People's Congress The 11th National People's Congress (NPC) met for a 5-year term, from 2008 to 2013. It held five annual two week plenary sessions during this period. It succeeded the 10th National People's Congress. There were 2,987 deputies elected to the ...

. Zhang was director of the in 2011, and held that office until 2014. In July 2014, Zhang was appointed minister-counselor of the . She held the position for only four months; in December she was made . In August 2018, Zhang was named Chinese ambassador to Greece, according to the

13th National People's Congress The 13th National People's Congress (NPC) was elected from October 2017 to February 2018 and was in session in the five-year period from 2018 to 2023. It held five sessions in this period, occurring around early March every year until before 202 ...

discision, a post she held from 2018 until 2021.

Personal life

Zhang is married to politician

Liu Jieyi Liu Jieyi (; born December 1957) is a Chinese diplomat and politician. From March 2018 to December 2022, he was director of the Taiwan Affairs Office. From 2013 to September 2017, he was China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (U ...

. The couple has a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Qiyue 1959 births Living people People from Beijing Beijing Foreign Studies University alumni Spokespersons for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Ambassadors of China to Belgium Ambassadors of China to Indonesia Ambassadors of China to Greece People's Republic of China politicians from Beijing Chinese Communist Party politicians from Beijing Members of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference