US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed on Monday that the US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad was leaving his post soon.

Branstad, 73, was once a governor of Iowa, and no clear reasons have been put out for this sudden departure.

Pompeo tweeted, "I thank Ambassador Terry Branstad for his more than three years of service to the American people as U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China."

I thank Ambassador Terry Branstad for his more than three years of service to the American people as U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 14, 2020

“Ambassador Branstad has contributed to rebalancing U.S.-China relations so that it is results-oriented, reciprocal, and fair. This will have lasting, positive effects on U.S. foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific for decades to come,” he added.

Ambassador Branstad has contributed to rebalancing U.S.-China relations so that it is results-oriented, reciprocal, and fair. This will have lasting, positive effects on U.S. foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific for decades to come.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 14, 2020

CNN reported that Branstad was leaving the post before the upcoming November presidential elections in the US, in which Democrat Biden and Republican Trump are rivals.

China also had only good things to say about Branstad, once calling him an “old friend of the Chinese people.”.

While the US embassy has not officially confirmed his departure yet.