China welcomed news about the possible appointment of Iowa Governor and “longtime” friend of Chinese President Xi Jinping Terry Branstad as US Ambassador to China, after multiple US media outlets reported that President-elect Donald Trump offered the key post to Branstad, citing unnamed sources.
Spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lu Kang, said on Wednesday that Terry is an “old friend,” noting that “we welcome him to play a greater role in advancing the development of China-US relations.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang calls Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as China’s “old friend” in a press conference on December 7, 2016.
However, Lu did not confirm the news, and stressed that China would work with whomever Washington appoints as an ambassador.
Bloomberg first broke the news about Branstad’s selection, citing “three people close to the matter” who wished to remain anonymous. Fox News also ran a similar story, and CBS NEWS said it can confirm Branstad “has accepted” the offer, however, without providing further information.
Branstad, who met with Trump on Tuesday in New York, told reporters he would not comment on whether he was offered a post as he left the Trump Tower, but expressed his excitement about the quality of people Trump is attracting to the Cabinet.
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad speaks to members of the media in the lobby at Trump Tower in New York on December 6, 2016. /CFP Photo
Trump’s top advisers including his Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon reportedly attended the meeting.
The offer, if confirmed, comes at a sensitive time between Beijing and Trump, following a recent controversial behavior of the real estate mogul who is readying himself to take office on January 20.
Last Friday, Trump broke diplomatic protocol by holding a phone conversation with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen, in the first direct contact between a US president-elect or president and a Taiwan leader since 1979, when Washington established diplomatic ties with Beijing and upheld the one-China policy.
Beijing lodged a formal complaint with the US, despite Trump’s team trying to downplay the happening, branding it a “courtesy call.”
On Sunday, Trump again created a buzz by launching an attack on Twitter against China, questioning Beijing’s monetary policies and military activities.
The news about the Republican governor being considered as a bridge between Trump’s upcoming administration and China is not novel.
Two days before the US presidential election last month, Trump singled out Branstad as an ideal liaison to China, and called him a “prime candidate to take care of China.”
Then 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 on August 27, 2016. /CFP Photo
Branstad and Xi go back in time to 1985.
70-year-old Branstad, who is the longest-serving governor in the US, first met Xi during an exchange between China’s northern Hebei Province and its sister state Iowa. At the time, Xi was county official in Hebei and was leading a five-member agricultural delegation to the US state. Branstad was serving his first term.
Xi returned to Iowa in 2012 as China’s Vice President at Branstad’s invitation.
In 2012, then Vice President Xi Jinping and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad raise their glasses in a toast at a state dinner in Iowa. /Iowa Governor's Office File Photo
Commenting on the visit, Branstad had said that “we’re very honored and very proud to have the president of China call us old friends.”
“I just want to renew our friendship, indicate our continued interest in building on the longstanding relationship, friendship and trust, and continue to improve the relations between our countries, and also to increase trade.”
In the past seven years, Brandstad, a staunch supporter of Trump, has visited China four times.
China is Iowa’s second-largest export destination after Canada. Figures from the US-China Business Council show Iowa exported 2.3 billion US dollars in goods to China in 2015, of which crop export accounted for some 1.4 billion US dollars.
Trump will be in Iowa on Thursday for a post-election victory tour, which he carried by the largest margin for a Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1980.
