US president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday said he has selected former US senator David Perdue of Georgia to serve as his ambassador to China, leaning on a former business executive turned politician to serve as the incoming administration’s envoy to the US’ most potent economic and military adversary.
Trump in a social media post said that Perdue “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.”
Perdue lost his senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a 2022 primary against Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
Photo: CNA
Perdue pushed Trump’s debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor.
During his time in the Senate, Perdue was labeled as “anti-China” in a 2019 Chinese think tank report.
The former Georgia lawmaker advocated that the US needed to build a more robust naval force to cope with threats, including from China.
Photo: AFP
Before launching his political career, Perdue held a string of top executive positions, including at Sara Lee, Reebok and Dollar General.
Economic tensions would be a big part of the US-China picture for the new administration.
Trump has threatened to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.
He said he would impose a 25 percent tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 percent tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.
It is unclear whether Trump would actually go through with the threats or if he is using them as a negotiating tactic.
The tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically raise prices for US consumers on everything from gas to cars to agricultural products.
The US is the largest importer of goods in the world, with Mexico, China and Canada its top three suppliers, the most recent US Census data showed.
SUPPORT TAIWAN
Perdue has had a long-standing interest in Taiwan-US security cooperation, making his first visit to Taiwan in June 2018 as a US senator.
In a last-minute change to the itinerary of his Asia trip, Perdue visited Taiwan to exchange views on regional security, cross-strait relations and other issues.
At the time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Perdue was a member of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services and had a history of supporting Taiwan.
Perdue voted for the National Defense Authorization Act in his time on the committee, which contained several pro-Taiwan provisions, the ministry said.
Perdue is also a supporter of Taiwan’s international participation, having signed a letter of support for Taiwan’s inclusion in Interpol as an observer.
He also issued a joint letter with then-US secretary of health and human services Tom Price calling for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Perdue thanked Taiwan on Twitter for a donation of 100,000 face masks to Georgia.
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