Han Xu (May 26, 1924 – July 19, 1994) was a Chinese diplomat who served as the Chinese Ambassador to the United States from 1985 to 1989, and as Vice Foreign Minister of China from 1982 to 1985. Early life Han was born May 26, 1924, in Jiangning County, Jiangsu Province. His original name was Shen Chongjian (), and Hanxu was his courtesy name, which he later adopted as his full name. His father, Shen Jiayi (), served as a grand justice during the rule of the Chinese Nationalist Government. Because of his father's position in the government, Han received an elite education. In the 1940s, he studied at Yenching University in Beijing where he met Communist leaders including the future Premier Zhou Enlai. Following his graduation from Yenching, Han worked as an English professor at the North China Allied University for several years where he met his wife, Ge Jiyun. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Han joined the Chinese Communist army as a guerrilla fighter. His unit helped to rescue American pilots who were shot down by the Japanese over the mountainous areas of northern China. He kept bank notes signed by the pilots he helped save as souvenirs. Han's elder brother, Shen Chonghui (), had joined the Republic of China Air Force as a pilot and died in 1937 while bombing the Japanese cruiser Izumo during the Battle of Shanghai. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Han served as an interpreter for the peace talks between the Communists and the Nationalists, which were brokered by the United States. Career In the wake of the Communist victory over the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War, Han joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he took the position of Director of the Protocol Department, a position he would occupy from 1949 until 1963. From 1963 until 1965, Han served as the first secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Moscow. As Director of Protocol, Han assisted in US President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China. According to the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Han was the first person to greet him when he visited China in 1971. In 1973, Han was promoted to the first deputy chief of the Chinese Liaison Office in Washington. In the six years Han served the post, he became popular among many in Washington for his sociable attitude and fluency in English. Following