Acting U.S. Ambassador to China David Rank resigned from his position due to President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal, CNN reports.
Rank has served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bejing since January 2016. He was serving in that capacity when China President Xi Jinping and then-U.S. President Barack Obama jointly declared their commitment to the Paris Agreement.
While former Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad has been confirmed as the next American ambassador to China, Rank was still serving as acting ambassador until Brandstad could move to Beijing. However, the report indicated he resigned over Trump’s decision to pull out of the deal.
“Mr. Rank made a personal decision,” a senior State Department official said to CNN. “We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department.”
China, the world’s largest carbon emitter, has said it will maintain its fidelity to the 2015 climate change agreement, despite Trump’s decision to leave.
