Trump’s choice for top China diplomat has long ties to Xi

One of Mr Branstad’s favourite anecdotes, which he told to your correspondent in an interview previous year, was how in 1985, when he was first-term governor of Iowa, he met Xi Jinping, China’s president, then a mid-level official from the rural Hebei province.

He will replace Democrat Max Baucus, a former USA senator from Montana, notable to Iowans for his close working relationship to Sen. He said Branstad has the experience and knowledge to play a key role in advancing U.S. Trump called Branstad “our prime candidate to take care of China” two days before the election at a rally in the state.

Branstad, whose son, Eric, managed Trump’s Iowa campaign, will have his work cut out for him.

Terry Branstad boasts a 30-year relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese leader in decades.

Less than a week after he threatened to unleash upheaval on U.S.

The Senate will need to confirm Branstad’s nomination.

Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific security program at the Center for a New American Security, said that by selecting an ambassador who has forged commercial ties between his state and China, Trump was signaling to Xi that as leaders they will have the same fundamental priority in seeking economic growth. “I look forward to building on our long friendship to cultivate and strengthen relations between our two countries and to benefit our economy”.

“The man who knows China and likes China”, said Trump, speaking in Des Moines during his “Thank You” tour to crucial swing states that supported the NY billionaire on Election Day. The official announcement came 24 hours later.

At the same time, Branstad has close ties to Trump. He has worked in conjunction with the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) to lead numerous trade missions to China and host trade teams in our state.

President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States needed to improve its relationship with China, which he criticized for its economic policies and failure to rein in North Korea. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang called Branstad “an old friend of the Chinese people”.

It was at Branstad’s invitation that Xi made a return trip to Iowa in 2012 as China’s vice-president.

Branstad had rejected China-bashing campaign rhetoric in an interview during Xi’s 2015 state visit to the United States, China’s official Xinhua news agency said.

“She will have somewhat of an easier path to govern in some ways because of the way I think she has been involved in policy making to this date”, said Dianne Bystrom, a professor of women in politics at Iowa State University.

“The United States/Chinese bilateral relationship is at a critical point”.

“I would simply characterize it as you have a new governor and they want their own team”, Doug Robinson told StateScoop previous year.

For six years as lieutenant governor, Kim Reynolds has traveled throughout Iowa alongside the governor she described as her mentor and friend, but rarely has she been in the spotlight. “This is an extraordinary opportunity”. Right next to Governor Branstad in nearl everything he does. He’s a promoter and that’s what ambassadors do.

He antagonized China last week by taking a protocol-busting telephone call from the leader of Taiwan, and then railed against Beijing for alleged currency manipulation, unfair taxes and militarizing the South China Sea. It is Nebraska’s fourth-largest export market, at $484 million.