MR JI CHAOZHU
CONFIDENTIAL
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 Qinghua University before serving as an interpreter during the Korean war. Mr Ji joined the
Foreign Ministry as an interpreter and has interpreted
for Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
addition, he has served twice in Washington before
becoming Ambassador to Fiji in 1985.
In
Mr Ji's middle-clas and academic background 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 Xiangtong, 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 to shock official
interpreters with his rapid translation of earthy Chinese
phrases. He is rated as one of the best of China's
SB4AAR
CONFIDENTIAL
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