Zheng Zeguang (; born October 1963) is a Chinese diplomat serving as the Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China.

Early life

Zheng was born in October 1963 in Nanjing village in

Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

of China. His father was a buyer for the Meitang

people's commune The people's commune ( zh, c=, p=rénmín gōngshè) was the highest of three administrative levels in rural areas of the People's Republic of China during the period from 1958 to 1983, until they were replaced by Townships of the People's Rep ...

. After the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

ended and schools reopened, Zheng enrolled himself into Puning No. 2 High School and Puning County Normal College, a high-school-level teacher training college, in 1978. He went to Puning No. 2 High School for seven weeks, until the admission offer from Puning County Normal College arrived. He switched schools to the normal college to study English. After graduating from the school in 1980, he taught English at a middle school in Nanjing village. In 1982, he took the

gaokao The Nationwide Unified Examination for Admissions to General Universities and Colleges (), commonly abbreviated as the Gaokao (), is the annual nationally coordinated undergraduate admission exam in mainland China, held in early June. Despite the ...

and was offered a place at

South China Normal University South China Normal University (SCNU) is a Types of universities and colleges in China, provincial public normal university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Guangdong, and co-sponsored by the provincial gover ...

. After graduating from the university, Zheng entered a translation class held by 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 ...

and became a diplomat. Zheng also studied law at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

. He joined the

in 1986 and has had placements in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

and the United States. Zheng is considered an expert on

China–United States relations The relationship between the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United States (US) is one of the most important foreign relations in the world. It has been complex and at times tense since the Proclamation of the People's Republi ...

, having specialised in that field since 1990; he was thought to be a leading contender to be

ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, , sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

. As of September 2021, he is banned from the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

while Chinese sanctions on British MPs remain. He was appointed as a member of the

14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is the current meeting of the top political advisory body of the People's Republic of China. It convened in Beijing, on 4 March 2023, and is scheduled to continue ...

on 17 January 2023 from the Friendship with Foreign Countries Sector. He was summoned by the

UK Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign an ...

in May 2024 after three individuals in the UK were charged with assisting the foreign intelligence service of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

References

External links

Biography
from the

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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 ...