Yang Jiechi was born in Shanghai on May 1950, and graduated from London School of  Economics in 1975.

1973-1975: Student at London School of Economics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

1975-1983: Staff member and then Second Secretary, Department of Translation and Interpretation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1983-1987: Second Secretary, First Secretary and then Counsellor, Chinese Embassy to the United States of America.

1987-1990: Counsellor and Director, Department of Translation and Interpretation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1990-1993: Counsellor and Director, and then Deputy Director-General, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1993-1995: Minister, Chinese Embassy to the United States of America.

1995-1998: Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs.

1998-2001: Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

2001-2005: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the United States of America.

2005-2007: Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

2007-: Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He was appointed as minister of Foreign Affairs on April 27, 2007.

He is also an alternate member of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.