Li Jinhua (diplomat)

After graduating from Nankai in 1953, Li was assigned to work in the library and documentation office of the Department of Intelligence (the predecessor to the Information Department) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, marking the beginning of her diplomatic career. From the 1950s to the mid-1990s, she served in the Information Department, where she held various positions including staff member, deputy division chief, counselor, deputy director-general, and spokesperson.^[2]

In addition to her work in the Information Department, Li held diplomatic posts abroad, serving as clerk, first secretary, and counselor at Chinese embassies in Pakistan and Chile.^[3] She also worked in the First Asian Affairs Department of the Ministry. While posted at the Chinese Embassy in Santiago, Chile, she earned recognition for her professional capabilities from then-ambassador Tang Haiguang.^[2]

In 1987, she was appointed the seventh spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, becoming the first woman to hold the position since the spokesperson system was established by then Director of the Information Department Qian Qichen in the early 1980s.^[1][4] Between 1987 and 1991, she hosted and participated in numerous regular press conferences and played a key role in communicating the Chinese government's position during and following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.^[5][6][7]

On 18 October 1991, she was appointed by President of China Yang Shangkun as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to New Zealand. Her tenure ended in March 1995 and she retired from diplomatic service on the same year.^[1][3]

Li Jinhua's husband, Yuan Shiyin, was also a senior Chinese diplomat. He served as political counselor and chargé d'affaires at various Chinese embassies abroad.^[1]