Is China headed for a diplomatic crisis of its own making?

As Beijing seeks to accelerate China’s rise to superpower status, the expanded global ambitions set out by President Xi Jinping may have already hit a snag.

While Americans worry about US President Donald Trump’s inward-looking vision of Washington’s global role and the steep budget cuts he has proposed for the State Department, which many warn are causing a US foreign service brain drain, Beijing seems to have a talent gap of its own to deal with.

With China becoming increasingly assertive on a range of global issues, its diplomatic service is expanding at a dazzling speed.

However, the average age of China’s more than 5,200 diplomats stands at around 38, with nearly half of them below 35, mostly entry-level or inexperienced diplomats and youth hires, according to state media reports.

There are growing concerns within the foreign policy establishment about an ageing senior diplomatic line-up and a noticeable shortage of first-rate younger diplomats with adequate international exposure who are capable of rising to the many challenges facing China as it increases its global prominence.

Compounding matters, say people in the know, there have been widespread complaints among professional diplomats about repeated delays in the reshuffling of key diplomatic posts, especially top overseas ones.