China’s task ‘may be complicated’ if Katherine Tai lands top US trade job
- Joe Biden’s reported pick as US trade representative to succeed Robert Lighthizer is a Chinese-American who speaks Mandarin and has worked in China
- Tai formerly had responsibility for litigation in US disputes against China at the World Trade Organization
If confirmed, Tai would be the first woman of colour to fill the position and the second Asian-American to take a cabinet-level post in the upcoming Biden administration.
Born in Connecticut to Taiwanese parents, Tai speaks Mandarin fluently and is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School. She taught English for two years at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, southern China, from 1996 to 1998, as a Yale-China Fellow.
Wu Xinbo, director of Fudan University’s American studies centre, said Tai’s previous experience in setting US strategy in trade disputes with China at the WTO meant she was skilled in applying pressure to China on a multilateral platform.
“In contrast to Trump’s and Lighthizer’s approach, which favours bilateral trade war, Biden doesn’t see tariffs as the way to go,” Wu said. “Under Biden, Tai could be instrumental in implementing the strategy of recruiting allies and ganging up on China at the WTO.”