Clark T. Randt Jr.

Clark T. "Sandy" Randt Jr. (Chinese: 雷德; Pinyin: Léi Dé; born November 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from July 28, 2001 to January 20, 2009, making him the longest-serving U.S.

He also attended Harvard Law School where he was awarded the East Asia Legal Studies Traveling Fellowship to China.

[1] Randt has been an opponent to the sale of defensive weapons to the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the face of opposition from the Communist government in Beijing.

The Deputy Chief of Mission took over as chargé d'affaires at the U.S. embassy for several months before Barack Obama's appointment of Jon Huntsman.

Randt is currently a special advisor to Hopu Investment Management, a Chinese private equity fund.

Official portrait from tenure as ambassador
Randt (left) speaks with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace prior to a meeting with foreign minister of China Li Zhaoxing in Beijing, China on March 23, 2007
Randt meeting with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick during a December 2007 trade mission by Patrick to China