Baucus is confirmed as US man in Beijing
Print Edition
The US Senate has voted unanimously to approve President Barack Obama’s nomination of Senator Max Baucus, who has helped steer trade policy with China, as ambassador to Beijing.
It voted 96-0 to confirm the 72-year-old Montana Democrat to the high-profile appointment.
Baucus holds one of the most powerful positions in the Senate as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees tax and trade policy.
He took a firm stance against some of China’s trade practices but also led successful US efforts in the 1990s to help China’s admission to the World Trade Organization and to begin normal trade relations with China.
However, Baucus has little direct experience of the security and military issues that are a growing concern in US relations with China.
In an emotional farewell speech after the vote, Baucus promised to build a stronger relationship with China.
“The relationship between the US and China is one of the most important in the world, and we, both China and the United States, need to get it right,” he said.
In a commentary, Xinhua news agency largely welcomed the confirmation, describing Baucus as a “well-received candidate,” but said more trust was needed between Washington and Beijing.
“The bilateral relationship will be more smooth and fruitful when China does not feel the US threat of containment and when the US finds no ulterior Chinese motive to undermine its global leadership,” Xinhua said.
Both Republicans and Democrats made speeches praising Baucus, who has been a senator since December 1978.
Baucus, a moderate Democrat, announced his intention to retire from the Senate at the end of 2014, well before Obama nominated him for the Beijing post last month.
He succeeds Gary Locke, who served as Obama’s secretary of commerce before becoming the US envoy in Beijing.
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