TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – China’s former ambassador to New Zealand, Wu Xi (吳璽), has been appointed by Beijing to serve as a new deputy directory, one of three, at the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of the State Council.

Wu will leave her position as the Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of China’s foreign ministry to replace the outgoing TAO deputy director Chen Yuanfeng (陳元豐), who resigned on March 27, reported UDN. Wu will also serve as the director of the TAO’s Department of Information.

In line with decades of China’s state policy towards Taiwan, Wu adheres to the so-called “1992 Consensus” as the basis for cross-strait communications. 

Previous statements by Wu, cited by UDN, suggest her position towards Taiwan is less extreme than that of China’s hyper-nationalist, so-called “wolf warrior” diplomats. In a 2019 article, Wu said that China should promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations while deepening economic and cultural exchanges to benefit both sides of the strait.  

In addition to serving as the ambassador to New Zealand from 2018 to 2021, Wu has served in multiple Chinese embassies across the world over the past three decades, including Australia, the U.S., and Iraq.

Wu Xi made international headlines in 2020 when she was criticized by former deputy prime minister of New Zealand Winston Peters after she rejected his statements of support for Taiwan to join the World Health Organization during Taiwan’s much-lauded efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Wu also clashed with former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after Ardern criticized China’s actions with issues that included unrest in Hong Kong, Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur people, and Taiwan’s representation at the WHO. In response to Ardern’s statement, Wu warned the New Zealand government to stop prying into China’s “internal affairs.”