As expected, Donald Trump names long-time friend of Xi Jinping as US ambassador to China
Trump also picked hardliners to run the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Homeland Security
Donald Trump offered China a gesture of goodwill on Wednesday, naming Terry Branstad, a long-time personal friend of President Xi Jinping, as ambassador to Beijing.
“Governor Branstad’s decades of experience in public service and long-time relationship with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders make him the ideal choice to serve as America’s ambassador to China,” Trump said in a statement.
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Governor Branstad is an old friend of the Chinese people. We welcome him to play a great role in promoting the development of China-US relations
“Governor Branstad is an old friend of the Chinese people,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a briefing. “We welcome him to play a great role in promoting the development of China-US relations.”
Also on Wednesday, Trump picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt – a fossil fuel defender – to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt sued the EPA in a bid to undo a key regulation under outgoing President Barack Obama that would curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate change, mainly from coal-fired power plants.
Trump also tapped retired Marine Corps General John Kelly for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, whose responsibilities include immigration. Kelly, the third retired general named by Trump to a senior administration post, last year told Congress that a lack of security on the US-Mexican border posed a threat to the US.