The United States' Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has been asked by White House aides to stop taunting China's president on social media.

On the hook

According to NBC News, U.S. president Joe Biden's aides have told Emanuel to stop taunting China's president Xi Jinping on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Administration officials appear to be worried that Emanuel's aggressive approach to messaging will hurt their efforts to reach a rapprochement with China and hinder efforts to set up a meeting between Biden and Xi in upcoming months.

Throughout September, Emanuel has been taunting China and Xi over the seeming disappearance of defence minister Li Shangfu.

Emanuel compared the situation to an Agatha Christie mystery novel, as well as the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet, where most of the main characters die.

Biden has been trying to warm relations between the two global powers in recent months, with the most recent attempt coming during Biden's United Nations General Assembly address on Tuesday.

According to CBS News, Biden said:

"We (the U.S.) seek to responsibly manage competition between our countries so it does not tip into conflict"

The full Rahm

Rahm Emanuel is a long-time Democratic Party operative, a former congressman, and Chief of Staff to former U.S. President Barack Obama.

He is famously combative, once sending a dead fish to a pollster to express his displeasure at their working relationship.

NBC News reports that according to U.S. officials, China has been "furious" with Emanuel's social media posts.

However, a spokesperson for Emanuel has denied the report.

Kurt Campbell, Biden's coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, said in an interview that Emanuel was serving with distinction and was 'uncommonly effective', also quipping:

"When you put Rahm on the field you get the full Rahm."

Minister Missing

Emanuel is the first U.S. official to acknowledge the absence of Li, who has not been seen in public since Aug. 29, 2023.

Li was scheduled to meet with several foreign officials, notably defence leaders, including Singapore's Chief of Navy, but has thus far missed those meetings.

China's officials cited ill health on his behalf.

Li is China's second minister to appear out of action without notice recently, with former foreign minister Qin Gang having exited the public eye in July and subsequently been replaced by his predecessor Wang Yi.

Emanuel had compared Li's disappearance to youth unemployment and China's ongoing troubles in its property sector.

As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” 1st: Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn’t been seen or heard from in 3 weeks. 2nd: He was a no-show for his trip to Vietnam. Now: He’s absent from his scheduled meeting with the Singaporean Chief of Navy…

— ラーム・エマニュエル駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) September 15, 2023

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