China has dismissed its outspoken trade negotiator Li Chenggang as the country’s representative to the World Trade Organization — just days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly called him “unhinged.”

Li, 58, was dropped from his Geneva post as part of a wider ambassadorial reshuffle approved by President Xi Jinping, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua confirmed Monday.

The move formalized his earlier reassignment in April as China’s lead international trade negotiator, but it came notably close on the heels of Bessent’s unusually sharp personal criticism — and as US-China trade tensions continue to simmer. 4

Last week, the treasury secretary accused Li of using “incendiary language” during an August visit to Washington, DC, suggesting the senior Chinese official “has

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