U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel seems to delight in trolling Beijing over sensitive topics.
Rahm Emanuel, the United States’ ambassador to Japan, has had a lot to say about China’s political leadership in recent weeks, drawing ire from Beijing and apparently causing some disquiet in Washington.
Since becoming the top envoy to America’s most important ally in Asia, the former Obama administration chief of staff, who gained a reputation for going off script during his time at the White House, has regularly taken to social media to needle the Chinese government over its opaque and at times contradictory policies.
After the alleged Chinese spy balloon incident derailed a planned U.S.-China rapprochement in February, President Joe Biden spent the following months sending cabinet officials to Beijing in what has so far been one-sided outreach. With a summit between Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, likely to happen this fall, the U.S. president’s national security aides have asked Emanuel to tone it down, according to multiple reports.
Emanuel’s posts on X, formerly Twitter, made headlines earlier this month when he weighed in on the surprise ousters this summer of now former Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, a pair of top rocket force officials, and Li Shangfu, China’s defense minister. His comments referenced some of Beijing’s most touchy subjects—the longevity of its senior leadership and Xi’s tendency to purge officials.
