United States Ambassador to China Terry Branstad will be stepping down after more than three years in Beijing, reported CNN quoting a source.

Branstad is expected to leave Beijing before the November presidential election, the source said.

The comes amid rising tensions between the US and China on several fronts. The Chinese government announced on Friday it would be imposing unspecified restrictions on senior US diplomats and personnel inside China after Washington put in place a similar measure targeting Beijing’s diplomatic corps on September 3.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a Twitter post on Monday, thanked Branstad for his service to the American people.

“President (Donald Trump) chose Ambassador Branstad because his decades-long experience dealing with China made him the best person to represent the Administration and to defend American interests and ideals in this important relationship,” Pompeo said.

The US secretary didn’t give a reason for Branstad’s departure, or any announcement about a potential successor to the important diplomatic post.

Shortly after winning the US Presidential election in 2016, Branstad was one of then-President-elect Trump’s first ambassadorial picks. 

Trump had said at the time that the then-Iowa governor was picked for his experience in public policy, trade and agriculture, as well as his “long-time relationship with (Chinese) President Xi Jinping,” whom Branstad had known since 1985 through US-China government exchanges.