Wu Wei: China's new Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia

On 17 July 2023, the Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs formally announced online that Wu Wei (吴伟) had been appointed as the new Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Ambassador Wu’s nomination was first made public early March 2023, when Micronesia’s outgoing President, David Panuelo, revealed in a letter that he had rejected Ambassador Wu’s nomination out of national interest. This left the position vacant for longer than anticipated, as Ambassador Huang Zheng (黄峥), Wu’s predecessor, had already departed the FSM in December 2022.

It appears, however, that newly inaugurated President Wesley Simina overruled Wu’s rejection. This is evidenced by the fact that, on 17 June, Ambassador Wu arrived in Pohnpei to take up his position. This reversal had been anticipated, as it was understood that China was waiting for Panuelo’s successor to take office. Unlike Panuelo - who openly criticised China’s ‘political warfare’ in the region and was weighing up switching the federation’s diplomatic ties to Taiwan - President Simina is supportive of the FSM’s relationship with China and has proactively sought to preserve the federation’s One China Policy on more than one occasion.

Ambassador Wu’s career is difficult to piece together, with the Chinese Government revealing few details about his past. Wu’s earliest known posting was to the Chinese Embassy in Namibia, where he was from as early as 2014 until the end of 2016. During this time, Wu served as a Political Counsellor, as well as chargé d'affaires ad interim for a brief period.

There is a gap in Wu’s CV between 2017 and 2020, however it is likely that some of this time was spent at the Department of External Security Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as by July 2020, his position as a Counsellor in the department had been made public online. By as late as July 2021, Wu had been promoted to the rank of Deputy Director-General, where he stayed until his promotion to Ambassador. No information is available relating to Wu’s alma mater, nor his home province.