Biden to Appoint Foreign Policy Expert Campbell as Asia Czar, Reports Suggest
Jan 13, 2021
Washington (US), January 13: US President-elect Joe Biden will appoint veteran foreign policy expert Kurt Campbell to the newly created position of Asia czar, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Campbell served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs under former President Barack Obama.
In late November, Biden announced that he would strengthen US alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, while dodging involvement in a new war.
The present-elect also noted at that time that he had no intentions of strengthening the slew of trade restrictions imposed on China by the Trump administration.
In early December, he, however, told The New York Times that he was not planning to remove 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports.
Biden noted that he wanted to conduct a full review of the existing trade agreement with China and consult with Washington's traditional allies in Asia and Europe in order to develop a "coherent strategy".
Biden's inauguration is planned for 20 January. Limited attendance is expected and initially, it was reported that only members of Congress and their invited guests, no more than one per lawmaker, were going to be allowed at the ceremony.
Source: Sputnik
