Acting US Ambassador to China Quits over Climate Decision

Yesterday, a top U.S. Embassy official in Beijing resigned.

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Charge d'affaires to the U.S. embassy in Beijing, David Rank, told his staff that his conscience would not permit him to formally notify the Chinese that the United States is withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.

The resignation was a display of the diplomat's unease with U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to exit the pact.

Rank, a career diplomat of 27 years, held a meeting with embassy employees to inform them that he had tendered his resignation and it was accepted. "Mr. Rank made a personal decision," said a spokesperson for the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau. "We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department."

According to a U.S. State Department official, Rank was unwilling to apprise the Chinese of the U.S.'s withdrawal from the climate pact. He reportedly told the staff that as "a parent, a patriot and a Christian," he could not in good conscience endorse Trump's decision to withdraw from the group.

Under the Obama Administration, climate change was incorporated into the daily business of diplomacy at every level and Rank was known for his personal concern about the environment.

On the weekend another career diplomat broke ranks with Trump after the president criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan for suggesting there was "no reason to be alarmed" by armed police patrols in the city.

A few hours later, Lewis Lukens, the acting ambassador of the U.S. Embassy in Britain, used the U.S. Embassy Twitter account to say Khan had shown "strong leadership" in responding to the London Bridge terrorist attack.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed that most Americans also disagreed with Trump's decision to remove the U.S. from the Paris pact. A large sampling of the poll believes the move will negatively affect the United States' global leadership.

The State Department has already informed the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Jonathan Fritz would be the new charges d'affaires, until former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad completes diplomat training.

Rank, who speaks Mandarin Chinese, French, Dari and Greek, was on his fourth tour in China. Previously, he had been a political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, director of the State Department's Office of Afghanistan Affairs.