Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump meets Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as he speaks during Iowa Senator Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Scott Morgan
Reuters: Trump picks Iowa Governor Branstad as U.S. ambassador to China: transition official
President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as the next U.S. ambassador to China, a transition official said on Wednesday, choosing a longstanding friend of Beijing after rattling the world's second-largest economy by speaking to Taiwan's president.
The appointment of Branstad may help to ease trade tensions between the two countries, the world's two biggest agricultural producers, diplomats and trade experts said. It also suggests that Trump may be ready to take a less combative stance towards China than many expected, the experts said.
The New York real estate developer, who defeated Hillary Clinton in last month's election, has said he intends to declare China a currency manipulator when he takes office on Jan. 20 and has threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the United States.
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WNU Editor: As predicted a few days ago .... The Next U.S. Ambassador To China Is A Long Time Friend of Chinese President Xi (December 4, 2016). What's my take .... President-Elect Trump has selected someone that he knows will get along well with Chinese President Xi.
More News On President-Elect Trump Picking Iowa Governor Branstad To Be The Next U.S. Ambassador To China
Trump taps China-friendly governor for ambassador to Beijing -- AFP
Donald Trump Picks Terry Branstad as Ambassador to China -- WSJ
Trump picks Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad — a ‘friend’ of China’s leader — as Beijing ambassador -- Washington Post
Trump offers Iowa Gov. Branstad ambassador to China post, sources say -- FOX News
Terry Branstad 'old friend of China to be US ambassador' -- BBC
Who is Trump's pick for China ambassador Terry Branstad? -- BBC
Terry Branstad’s Relationship With China: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know -- Heavy
10 things to know about Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Trump’s pick for ambassador to China -- Washington Post
2 comments:
I note the pattern is for Trump to pick retired people for posts. That may be good thing or not so good.
This is actually a good sign. If Mr. Branstad believed Mr. Trump really was not going to be respectful to the Chinese, he would not have taken this position. As such, this seems to indicate that the tough rhetoric was some sort of ploy by team Trump. To what end I'm not sure.
At some point the parties will need to negotiate. Clearly the current woefully one sided trade policies that are to the detriment of the US cannot continue. Surely the Chinese had to know that this, much like $110 barrel a barrel oil, would have to end someday. For this to happen, top officials of both countries will need to be respectful. Actually I've never been very worried about US officials being respectful to Chinese officials in the end but the other end of this does concern me. Will Chinese be respectful to US officials?
It needs to be made very clear to Chinese officials that the trade agreements will need to be renegotiated, we will be respectful to them, and we expect them to be respectful to us. If they do not respect us, while we understand it will be VERY painful for us we are prepared to walk and declare all agreements null and void. This would be far preferable to being a slave of China.
At least our dignity is spared even if our economy is destroyed for a generation or more. At some point, team Trump has to understand they are negotiating from a position of weakness. I'm not sure the deal maker is used to being in that position and may not know how to handle that.
The appointment of an ambassador who has good relations with the Chinese leadership, like choosing team members who have good relations with Russian leadership, is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately the dust up over the call from the Taiwanese leaders has NOT been helpful.
If there's a silver lining, the dust up over this does lay bare the utter pettiness of the Chinese. I can only imagine the howls of rage against the United States if we behaved in such a manner as to have the impudence to tell a foreign leader who they can and cannot take phone calls from. This reveals a petty country who happens to be very powerful and can destroy our economy and hurt us very badly any time they choose to.
This does give some insight into whom we are negotiating with. Of course I knew this and would not have taken the phone call from the Taiwanese leader if I'm POTUS elect and I would have known doing such would set negotiations back. I'm somewhat surprised team Trump and the deal maker himself did not know this. Now they do unless they choose to be blinded by ideology.
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