U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad will retire from his position and depart from Beijing in early October, the website of the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China said in a statement on Monday.

The 73-year-old diplomat confirmed his decision to U.S. President Donald Trump by phone last week, the statement said.

Branstad, a former Republican governor of Iowa, has been the U.S. ambassador to China since 2017 – the first year of Trump's presidency. His planned departure comes amid worsening relations between Beijing and Washington.

In a Twitter post early Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked Branstad for his service to the American people as U.S. ambassador.

"We are aware of the tweets and have not yet received notification that Terry Branstad is stepping down," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday at a press briefing in response to the reports.

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