Mei Zhaorong

Mei Zhaorong (; February 1934 – November 22, 2023) was a Chinese diplomat who served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Federal Republic of Germany from 1988 to 1997. He was a long-time specialist in European affairs and later served as President of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs.

Biography Mei Zhaorong was born in February 1934 in Chongming, Jiangsu (now part of Shanghai). In January 1951, while still a secondary-school student, he responded to the nationwide mobilization during the Korean War and began work-study training. He enrolled in the English Department of the Beijing Foreign Languages School, later known as the Beijing Foreign Studies Institute. In July 1953, he joined the Chinese Communist Party and was selected as one of the first cohorts of government-sponsored students sent by the People's Republic of China to the German Democratic Republic, where he studied German language and literature at Karl Marx University, Leipzig.

After completing his studies, Mei entered the diplomatic service in 1956. He served successively as an attaché at the Chinese embassy in East Germany and later held positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including deputy section chief in the Soviet and Eastern European Affairs Department. He subsequently served as second secretary at the Chinese embassies in both East Germany and the Federal Republic of Germany. From the late 1970s onward, Mei worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Western European Affairs Department, where he advanced from section chief to deputy director-general and ultimately director-general.

In June 1988, Mei was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Federal Republic of Germany. From 1992 onward, his post carried vice-ministerial rank. He served in this role until January 1997 and played a significant part in stabilizing and developing Sino-German relations during a period of major geopolitical change in Europe. Between 1993 and 1998, he was a member of the Eighth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

From 1997 to 2003, Mei served as president and Party Secretary of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs. In recognition of his contributions to international exchange, he received an honorary doctorate from Myongji University in South Korea in 2003 and was awarded the Grand Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the German president in 2004. From July 2012, he served as a specially appointed research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.

Mei Zhaorong died in Beijing on 22 November 2023 at the age of 89.