1st US ambassador to China: Leonard Freel Woodcock

Term of appointment: Feb 27, 1979 - Feb 13, 1981

China connections: Woodcock was the first US ambassador to China after World War II and helped open the US Embassy in Beijing in 1979. As head of the US liaison mission in China, Woodcock married and held a wedding party in Beijing in 1978.

Major issues: Woodcock was appointed by former US president Jimmy Carter. He firmly opposed US trade restrictions against China, supported the granting of permanent most-favored nation status, and opened substantive economic contacts between the countries, thereby winning China's trust.