Rick Waters, who served as the most senior official solely focused on China at the US State Department, has announced his resignation at a difficult time in US-China relations. Waters was in charge of the newly created "China House," which was established to coordinate policy on China and comprised a team of about 65 officials dedicated to enhancing the US's Indo-Pacific strategy. Waters was responsible for the Office of China Coordination, also known as China House, since it was founded in December last year, and he has held the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for China and Taiwan since June 2021.
Waters' resignation is the latest in a series of changes regarding US officials' handling of the contentious US-China relationship. For instance, Laura Rosenberger departed from the National Security Council earlier this year. Waters' work on China and Taiwan was acknowledged by a State Department spokesperson, who expressed appreciation for his role in establishing China House.
The Biden administration is optimistic that relations with China, which have been fraught, may improve soon. Xie Feng, China's new ambassador to the US, recently arrived, demonstrating the possibility of progress. Another opportunity to ease tensions between the two countries will come when Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo meets with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao this week.
The State Department is proud of China House, which includes officials from other bureaus within the department and federal government agencies and is located on the State Department's 7th floor, alongside other leadership offices. The China House's aim was to have a coordinated approach to China relations and enhance the US's Indo-Pacific objectives.
Kurt Campbell, the coordinator for the Indo-Pacific and deputy assistant to the president, praised China House's work, citing that the service "is already a force multiplier for the Administration’s efforts to out-compete China and advance a free and open Indo-Pacific," adding that "Rick’s unique knowledge and experience consistently improved our policymaking."
Although Waters will be leaving his current role, he is remaining a career foreign service officer. In February, Wendy Sherman, the Deputy Secretary of State who has led much of the US's diplomatic engagement with China, announced her intention to retire. These resignations indicate the Biden administration is undergoing a significant shift in US-China policy. Nevertheless, the Biden administration is optimistic that relations with China will improve sooner rather than later.