Austenasian Ambassador to China

Ambassador of the Empire of Austenasia to China
Coat of arms of the Empire
Incumbent H.E. Juntao Yang, Duke of Shuhan since 3 February 2022
Style	His/Her Excellency
Appointer	The Monarch, Prime Minister or Chief Ambassador
Formation	26 December 2012

The Austenasian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China is the official diplomatic representative of the government of the Empire of Austenasia to that of China.

As Austenasian recognition of China is not currently reciprocated, the position is - at present - unaccredited, and serves a primarily ceremonial role.

The Empire of Austenasia first officially recognised the People's Republic of China as a sovereign state on 27 December 2008 with the passage of Act 37 (Recognition of other States). On 3 January 2009, Act 42 (International Diplomatic Relations) instructed the Chief Ambassador to contact China (among other countries) "to inform them about the Empire of Austenasia and attempt to gain recognition". A letter was accordingly sent on 17 May later that year to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but no reply was ever received.

Austenasia recognises both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan) as sovereign states, but in each case only recognises the sovereignty of each state over the "territory it both claims and controls". This became the official position of the Austenasian government on 27 March 2022, with the passage of the Foreign Affairs Act 2022 (prior to this, said position had been held de facto for several years, but the aforementioned Act 37 had established recognition of the ROC's claims in preference to those of the PRC, leaving Austenasia in the de jure situation of recognising the sovereignty of the PRC only over territory the ROC did not also claim).

On 26 December 2012, Danny Zhang was appointed the Empire's first Ambassador to China. He resigned on 30 April 2021 after a Foreign Office review of serving diplomats, and replaced on 3 February the following year by the incumbent, Juntao Yang.

Juntao Yang also serves as the Governing Commissioner of Shuhan, an Austenasian Crown Dependency claimed from China shortly after his appointment as Ambassador. This places him in the ironic position of administering the only territorial possession that the country he is assigned to as Ambassador has a territorial dispute with Austenasia over.

Two other diplomatic positions are under the authority of the Ambassador to China:

• Consul-General in Hong Kong: Ming Him Chu (since 9 December 2014)
• Envoy to Nanchang: Gary Pu (since 10 February 2022)

List of Ambassadors

Number	Name	Portrait	Resident of	In office	Appointed by	Notes
1	Danny Zhang		Xi'an	26 December 2012 - 30 April 2021	HIH Crown Prince Jonathan (Prime Minister)	Resigned after more than eight years in office after being given the opportunity to step down during a Foreign Office review of diplomats.
2	H.E. Juntao Yang, Duke of Shuhan		Shuhan	3 February 2022 – present	HIM Emperor Jonathan I (Monarch)	Became an Austenasian resident and governing commissioner on 16 February 2022 upon the foundation of Shuhan.