MR JI CHAOZHU
Born in 1929 in Shanxi Province, Mr Ji lived from 1939-1950 in
the USA where he studied Chemistry at Harvard. After his return to China, he completed his studies at Quinghua University before serving as an interpreter during the Korean war.
After joining the Foreign Ministry, Mr Ji served as interpreter
for Zhou Enlai in 1963-1965 and 1971-1972. In 1973 he was
appointed Counsellor at the Chinese People's Government and
Liaison Office in Washington. He was recalled to Peking in 1975
where he served first as Deputy Director of the MFA Department
Sérive
of International Organisations and Conferences and Treaties and Law (1975-1979), and then as Deputy Director of the MFA's
American and Oceanian Affairs Department.
He returned to Washington as Counsellor with rank of Minister
at the Chinese Embassy (1982-1985) before becoming Ambassador
to Fiji (1985-1987).
Mr Ji has also interpreted for Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping (on
his 1979 US tour).
Mr Ji's non-revolutionary background and foreign contacts made
him an obvious target for the Cultural Revolution and he disappeared from view between 1965 and 1971. He was associated
with Zhou Enlai and those wanting rapprochement with the US, and
today is seen as a supporter of the reformers.
Mr Ji is married to Wang Xianghong, a former English translator
at the UN Headquarters in New York, and has two teenage children.
He has at least one brother, and possibly other relatives, who
live in the US.
Mr Ji is a lively and intelligent man, whose fluency in English
(with an American accent), allows his sense of humour and
evident ease in Western company to shine through. He has been
/known