Last Page
A New US Embassy—and a
Chance to Look Back and to the Future
Lydia R. Goldfine
J ust in time for the 30th
anniversary of US-China
diplomatic relations, and
reflecting the growing importance
of US-China relations, the new US
Embassy in Beijing and new PRC
Embassy in Washington, DC, both
opened in 2008.
The Beijing Embassy
Compound was dedicated on
US Embassy in Beijing
August 8, 2008—the opening day
of the Beijing Olympics. The
embassy is the second-largest over-
seas construction project in the
history of the US Department of
State and will host about 1,000 employees. Located on a
10-acre site, the embassy consists of five buildings: an
eight-story main chancery; an adjacent three-story atrium
office building; a marine security guard quarters; a consular
building; and a parking, utility, and ancillary guard struc-
ture. The buildings represent modern American architec-
ture, yet the embassy compound is rooted in traditional
Chinese forms. The buildings are connected by narrow,
bamboo-lined walkways and are linked by a series of land-
scaped gardens.
For members of the embassy community who have
served multiple tours in Beijing, the closing of the old US
chancery and other embassy buildings in the heart of the
city evokes many memories. Executive Director of the
Department of Energy’s China Office Marco DiCapua, who
served his first tour in Beijing from 1993 to 1997, remem-
bers the feel of the old chancery. “The embassy was a period
piece. It was reminiscent of the architecture that belongs to
the first stage of the US-China relationship.... It was at
times as dirty as it was challenging.... But the possibilities
were endless concerning the US-China relationship.”
Defense Attaché General Charles W. Hooper first served
in Beijing as a foreign area officer in 1979. He too remem-
bers the character of the old embassy buildings and its neigh-
borhood. “We got to know the old chancery building really
well, all its nuances, like elevators that didn’t work, the
ambassador’s office, and the tree-lined streets. It was comfort-
ing walking up to those old buildings, seeing the US flag and
knowing what great things had happened there. There was
little art, nor was there much history ... you couldn’t show
off in that building. You worked in that building. We did
some of our best work in that creaky, craggy, building.”
The real institutional memory
comes from locally employed staff
(LES). Yang Gengqi, the
embassy’s Print Shop supervisor
who has worked in the Public
Affairs Office for 29 years,
remembers parties at Yi Ban
[No. 1 Office]—the ambassador’s
residence and the original
embassy in Beijing. “Every year
the American staff would put on
a Christmas party for the LES,
and in the spring the LES would
throw a Chinese New Year party
for the Americans. All the people
joined together to make dumplings and decorate the pro-
gram room.” Yang, like many embassy staff, is still warm-
ing to the new space. “My office was a place for business
exchange. It was small and comfortable. There was a win-
dow and a garden. Here it is like a big company.” Yang
also noted the parallel growth in the US-China relation-
ship and the size of the US embassy: “We worked in the
first building to start the relationship, we met the first
ambassador. We are a part of the beginning of the China-
US relationship. At first, everything was very small. We’ve
seen everything develop into a huge relationship. After
one or two years ... we will love this new building, too.”
With such a significant change in the work environ-
ment, it is not surprising that staff have mixed emotions.
DiCapua suggests “the transformation is as radical as any
taking place in China today. For many LES members, it is
like going from the hutong to the high-rise ... for the first
time, they’ll be working very closely with a lot of
Americans. It used to be a lot of little provinces—Yi Ban,
Er Ban, San Ban [Offices 1, 2, and 3]—all separated. Now
we are all together in one big family.”
Deputy Economic Section Chief Robert W. Forden,
now stationed in Beijing for the third time, said “the new
building demonstrates the US commitment; it illustrates
how the two countries have moved toward recognizing that
this relationship may be their single most important rela-
tionship this century. The new building symbolizes
strength, and it is a good expression of not only who we are
but also the importance of this relationship.”
Lydia R. Goldfine is press assistant at the US Embassy in Beijing.
chinabusinessreview.com January–February 2009 55