BEIJING: Former US senator David Perdue was on Tuesday confirmed by the Senate as the 14th US ambassador to Beijing, which comes at a critical time in the relations between the two countries, especially on the economic front.
Perdue, 75, a Republican from Georgia, received mostly partisan support, with 51 Republicans, 15 Democrats, and one independent voting for him. Twenty-eight Democrats and one independent voted against.
The confirmation of Trump’s ally came at a critical juncture in US-China relations, marked by escalating trade tensions. It also coincided with the 100th day of Trump’s second term.
Perdue’s confirmation could signal an opportunity to reopen high-level communication channels.
Beijing reiterated there were no consultations or negotiations on tariffs, despite reports that the US has said trade talks were underway.
On Tuesday, China urged the US to stop threatening and pressuring, and engage in dialogue based on equality, respect and mutual benefit after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it was up to China to de-escalate trade tensions.
Over the past few months, the Trump administration has rolled out sweeping tariffs, starting with a 10 percent blanket duty on all foreign-made goods.
Dozens of countries received a 90-day pause until July, but tariffs on Chinese imports were raised to 145 percent.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 3, Perdue said he would “work to increase the tempo of diplomatic dialogue to get results and to achieve fair and reciprocal trade between our two economies”. At the hearing, Perdue gave his views on US-China relations since 1979 and of the status quo, mostly following the Republican Party policy line on China. But he did call the China-US relationship “the most important diplomatic relationship of our time” and advocated for a “nuanced, nonpartisan and strategic” approach to China. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
