Embassy of China in Washington, D.C. (chancery)

Pei Partnership Architects designed the building together with I. M. Pei. The design work was led by C. C. Pei, one of I. M. Pei's sons, who had set up the practice in 1992 alongside his brother Li Chung (Sandi) Pei. Chinese firms carried out the construction, finished in 2008, and the chancery came into use on April 1, 2009.

In Pei's words, the chancery matters for China in symbolic as well as architectural terms.

The building occupies a site in the northwest of Washington, with Van Ness Street along its north side and International Drive along its west side. It fuses the traditional ideas of Chinese architecture with modernity: a West Office Wing, an East Office Wing and, between them, a central pavilion housing the public areas. The entrance faces south and opens onto a modern, practical interior; behind, between the two wings, lies a garden in the Chinese style.

French limestone in a warm beige covers the exterior walls, a nod to the limestone of Washington's typical federal buildings. The Entrance Hall, with its modern look, is the symbol of the building. It opens onto several meeting rooms, ballrooms, a multi-function hall and a 300-seat auditorium. The landscaping, an important part of the design, is by Peter Liu Associates. Custom lighting fixtures echo the geometry of the building, and daylight is blended with soft, diffused electric light.