China welcomes US ambassador pick
Print Edition
CHINA has welcomed the US Senate’s confirmation of Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as US ambassador to Beijing, praising his “positive role” in Sino-US relations.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying expressed the hope that Branstad will help the relationship “develop in a sound and steady way” after assuming his post.
“For a long time, Mr Branstad has been playing a positive role in promoting bilateral exchanges and friendship,” Hua said at a regular press briefing yesterday.
The longest-serving governor in US history, 70-year-old Branstad has known Chinese President Xi Jinping since the mid-1980s. The two met in 1985 when Xi, then a provincial official, led an agricultural trade delegation to Iowa.
US Senators voted 82-13 on Monday to approve the nomination of Branstad, who is in his sixth term as Iowa’s governor.
He served as Iowa’s governor from 1983 to 1999 before entering the private sector. He was re-elected in 2010.
In a statement, Branstad said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that a boy from a small farm in Leland, Iowa, would one day have the opportunity to represent my country and my state on the world stage, working closely with one of the world’s most influential countries and one of America’s largest trading partners.”
Among his most sensitive assignments will be persuading China to help defuse North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.
During his confirmation hearing, Branstad told lawmakers he intended to use his relationship with Xi to advance US and international interests.
Both Republicans and Democrats praised Branstad’s Midwestern pragmatism. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, declared Branstad “fully qualified” for the job.
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