Ambassador speaks out on issues affecting Americans

An ambassador rarely speaks for the people of the foreign country where he or she is posted. However, I've heard China's Washington envoy Cui Tiankai speak for the Americans at least twice recently.

On both occasions, he spoke out to counter the rhetoric that threatens to undermine Sino-US trade, even derail bilateral relations, which could harm the interests of the people in both countries.

Cui's first retort came two months ago at a meeting of US governors. The parley followed some ups and downs in China-US relations in the first half of this year, including Washington's decision to impose high "punitive" tariffs on Chinese goods that smacked of protectionism.