The United States ambassador to China TERRY BRANSTAD is stepping down, according to Secretary of State MIKE POMPEO.

POMPEO while thanking BRANSTAD for his service said he had contributed to rebalancing U.S.-China relations so that it is results-oriented, reciprocal, and fair.

In a statement, the US embassy in Beijing confirmed the departure, saying BRANSTAD was retiring and would leave Beijing next month at a time of increasingly tensed ties between the world’s two biggest economies.