Ambassadors who helped shape Sino-US ties

6th US ambassador to China: James Ralph Sasser

Term of appointment: Dec 19, 1995 - July 1, 1999

China connections: Sasser was ambassador when former president Jiang Zemin paid an official visit to the US, the first since 1989. He is believed to have created the idea of the China-US strategic cooperative partnership.

Major issues: Sasser was appointed by former US president Bill Clinton. Early on the morning of May 8, 1999, a US-led NATO force launched a missile attack that hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese reporters and leaving the embassy building devastated.