Donald Trump nominates 'hawkish' former Senator as Ambassador to China

Washington DC [US], December 10: US President-elect Donald Trump has named former Georgia Senator David Perdue as his pick for the US Ambassador to China, Al Jazeera reported.
"As a Fortune 500 CEO, who had a 40-year International business career, and served in the US Senate, David brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China. He has lived in Singapore and Hong Kong, and worked in Asia and China for much of his career," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
"He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain peace in the region and a productive working relationship with China's leaders," Trump said, as per Al Jazeera.
As a member of the Senate from 2015 to 2021, Perdue took a tough stance on China that has become a hallmark of the Republican Party, as reported by Al Jazeera.
"We must have a long-term plan to compete and deal with China's rising economic and geopolitical influence," the report quoted Perdue as saying earlier at a media outlet.
Perdue's appointment will require the approval of the US Senate, but his confirmation is likely to proceed as Republicans hold a majority in the chamber.
Notably, this appointment is a challenging one as Trump is set to impose a 10 per cent tariff on all Chinese goods when he takes office on January 20 in retaliation for Beijing's failure to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the US.
"In this important role, David will guide policy for the administration in artificial Intelligence and cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
During his campaign, Trump also threatened to impose tariffs of 60 percent or more on all Chinese goods.
Earlier this week, the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden imposed its third round of export controls on semiconductors and related technology, curbing exports to 140 companies, as per Al Jazeera.
Source: Times of Oman