Trump names former Georgia senator as ambassador to China

President-elect Donald Trump said he has chosen former Georgia senator David Perdue to be his ambassador to China.

His choice sees him relying on a former business executive turned politician to serve as the administration's envoy to the United States' most powerful economic and military adversary.

Mr. Trump said in a social media post that Mr. Perdue “brings valuable expertise to help us build our relationship with China.”

Mr. Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 primary against Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Mr. Perdue pushed Mr. Trump’s debunked lies about election fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor.

During his tenure in the Senate, Mr. Perdue was called “anti-China” in a 2019 China think tank report. The former Georgia politician argued that the United States needed to build a naval force more robust to face threats, particularly those from China.

Before embarking on his political career, Mr. Perdue held several executive positions, including at Sara Lee, Reebok and Dollar General.

Economic tensions will play a significant role in the U.S.-China relationship for the new administration.

Mr. Trump has threatened to impose drastic new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China upon taking office, as part of his efforts to combat illegal immigration and drugs.

He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional 10% customs duty on goods from China, as part of one of his first decrees.

The Chinese embassy in Washington warned earlier this week that there would be losers on all sides in the event of a trade war.

“Economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States is mutually beneficial in nature,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said on X, formerly Twitter.

“No one will win a trade war or a tariff war.”

He added that China had taken steps last year to help stem drug trafficking.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian did not comment on Mr. Perdue's appointment, saying only “I have noted the relevant information” when asked about it during a a daily press briefing in Beijing.

It's unclear whether Mr. Trump will actually follow through on his threats or use them as a negotiating tactic.

The tariffs, if implemented, could significantly raise prices for U.S. consumers on everything from gasoline to automobiles to agricultural products. The United States is the world's largest importer of goods, with Mexico, China and Canada its top three suppliers, according to the most recent U.S. census data.

Mr. Perdue, if confirmed, will have to negotiate a difficult set of issues that go beyond trade.

Washington and Beijing have long had deep differences over China's support for Russia during its war in Ukraine, on issues of human rights, technology and Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as the his.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said last month during a meeting with outgoing US President Joe Biden that Beijing was “ready to work with a new US administration”.
But Mr. Xi also warned that a stable relationship between China and the United States was essential not only for the two nations but also for “the future and destiny of humanity.”

“Choose wisely,” Mr. Xi warned during his November meeting with Mr. Biden on the sidelines of an international summit in Peru.

“Continue to explore the right way for two great countries to get along well.”

Mr Trump's relationship with Mr Xi started well during his first term before becoming strained over trade disputes and the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr. Trump appears particularly focused on using tariffs as leverage on Mr. Xi, even threatening to use tariffs as a cudgel to pressure Beijing into cracking down on the production of materials used in the manufacture of fentanyl in Mexico and sold illegally in the United States. .

A second Trump administration is expected to test U.S.-China relations even more than the Republican first term, when the U.S. imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion (282 billion pounds sterling) of Chinese products.

This brought Beijing to the negotiating table, and in 2020 the two sides signed a trade deal in which China committed to improving intellectual property rights and purchasing an additional $200 billion (US$156 billion). pounds sterling) of American products. A few years later, a research group showed that China had purchased virtually none of the promised goods.

Before Mr. Trump's return to power, many American companies, including Nike and eyewear retailer Warby Parker, diversified their purchases outside of China. Shoe brand Steve Madden has announced plans to cut its imports from China by up to 45% next year.

Trump also beefed up his immigration team on Thursday, promising mass expulsions and border crackdowns.

He announced he was nominating former Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott to head U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Mr. Scott, a career civil servant, was named head of the border agency in January 2020 and enthusiastically embraced then-President Trump's policies, particularly regarding the construction of a border wall between the United States. United and Mexico. He was expelled by the Biden administration.

Mr. Trump also announced that he would nominate Caleb Vitello as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that, among other things, illegally arrests migrants in the United States.

Mr. Vitello is a career ICE official with over 23 years of experience with the agency and most recently served as Deputy Director of the Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs.

The president-elect named Border Patrol union head Brandon Judd as ambassador to Chile. Mr. Judd is a longtime supporter of Mr. Trump, appearing with him on his visits to the U.S.-Mexico border, although he notably supported a Senate immigration bill championed by Mr. Biden and that Mr. Trump sank in part because he didn't want to. give the Democrats an electoral victory on this issue.