President Trump Nominates Former Senator To Serve As Ambassador To China

President Trump has nominated former U.S. Senator from Georgia David Perdue to be his ambassador to China.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, wrote, “Tonight, I am announcing that former U.S. Senator, David Perdue, has accepted my appointment as the next United States Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.”

He added, “As a Fortune 500 CEO, who had a 40-year International business career, and served in the U.S. 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,” added Trump.

I am truly honored to accept President Trump’s nomination to become the next US Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. Having lived in Asia on two occasions, I understand the gravity of this responsibility and look forward to implementing President Trump’s strategy to make… pic.twitter.com/p0AxaZHQOj

— David Perdue (@DavidPerdueGA) December 6, 2024

Per The New York Times:

President-elect Donald J. Trump announced on Thursday that he would nominate David Perdue, a businessman and former senator from Georgia, to be his ambassador to China.

“He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain Peace in the region, and a productive working relationship with China’s leaders,” Mr. Trump wrote in an online post.

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If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Perdue would take over the ambassadorship from Nicholas Burns, a veteran diplomat and former Harvard professor. Mr. Perdue would serve as a conduit between Mr. Trump and Chinese officials in Beijing, including Xi Jinping, the country’s leader. American officials in the Biden and first Trump administrations have said the U.S.-China relationship is the most consequential in the world.

The two nations are peer competitors, with the world’s two largest economies and most powerful militaries. American officials say that China is the only power capable of displacing the United States as the dominant nation in the world.

Mr. Trump’s picks for the top national security posts have talked about confronting and constraining China: Marco Rubio, the designated secretary of state; Michael Waltz, tapped for national security adviser; and Pete Hegseth, Mr. Trump’s deeply imperiled choice for defense secretary. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump named Peter Navarro, a vocal critic of China, to be a senior adviser on trade and manufacturing.

But Mr. Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the one for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, have not expressed strong animus toward China. Neither man has been a strong advocate of universal tariffs, which some of Mr. Trump’s supporters favor. Mr. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of 60 percent or more on all Chinese goods and to revoke the nation’s preferred trade status, a move that would also lead to higher tariffs.

Posting President Trump's announcement on David Perdue's appointment as the next US Ambassador to China. Positive comments in the release IMO. pic.twitter.com/UOdZIoQvSy

— Brendan Ahern (@ahern_brendan) December 6, 2024

Per Fox News:

President-elect Trump has tapped former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., to serve as U.S. Ambassador to China.

In his announcement, Trump said Perdue “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China,” citing his decades-long career in business.

“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 on Truth Social.

The appointment comes amid threats by Trump to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods unless Beijing does more to stop the trafficking of the highly addictive narcotic fentanyl.

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Trump also appointed Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, as ambassador to Chile.