Results 1 to 2 of 2
Like Tree1Likes

Thread: Trump Picks Iowa Governor Branstad as China Ambassador

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    PARADISE (San Diego)
    Posts
    99,040

    Trump Picks Iowa Governor Branstad as China Ambassador

    Trump Picks Iowa Governor Branstad as China Ambassador

    Jennifer Jacobs JenniferJJacobs
    December 6, 2016 — 7:35 PM PST
    Updated on December 6, 2016 — 8:01 PM PST


    Terry Branstad.

    Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg


    • Longest serving U.S. governor said to accept the position
    • Branstad, China’s Xi have friendship dating back to 1985



    President-elect Donald Trump offered the post of U.S. ambassador to China to Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, a longtime friend of Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to three people close to the matter.

    Branstad, a Republican, has accepted the offer, said the three people, who asked for anonymity.


    The decision comes at a time of heightened tensions with China after Trump abandoned almost four decades of diplomatic protocol on Dec. 2 by speaking directly with the leader of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rogue province. Trump has been critical of China’s currency policies and military build-up. He hasn’t named his choice for secretary of state, the top U.S. diplomatic post.


    Branstad arrived at Trump Tower in New York Tuesday afternoon with his wife, Chris, and his chief of staff, Michael Bousselot. A contingent of Trump’s top advisers gathered for the meeting with Branstad, including Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to two people familiar with the matter.

    An hour after Branstad went up the elevator to Trump’s office, he re-emerged in the lobby, where he told reporters he wouldn’t comment on whether he was offered a post.


    "I’m really excited about the quality of people that he’s attracting to the cabinet," Branstad said. "I’m very proud to have supported Donald Trump for president."


    Victory Tour


    Trump will be in Iowa on Thursday for a stop on his post-election victory tour. The longest-serving governor in U.S. history, Branstad, 70, started a second run as governor in 2011. He previously held the job from 1983 to 1999.

    Branstad’s friendship with Xi may be one of the reasons Trump picked him for the ambassador post. Two days before the Nov. 8 presidential election, during a rally in Sioux City, Trump singled out Branstad as an ideal liaison to China. “You would be our prime candidate to take care of China,” Trump said in calling the governor to the stage.


    Branstad and Xi met when China’s leader made his first trip to Iowa in 1985 during a sister-state exchange. At the time Xi was a young agricultural official from Hebei province, working as director of the Feed Association of Shijiazhuang Prefecture.


    The two men have reconnected several times since then. Despite their cultural differences, the pair forged strong bonds and have used their mutual love of agriculture to bridge the gap between their respective countries on human rights, economic issues and other tensions.


    Branstad in 2012 feted Xi, then China’s vice president, with an elaborate dinner at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines, and days after Trump’s election embarked on a previously planned, week-long trade mission to China and Japan, his fourth trip to China in the last seven years.


    Branstad, unlike some establishment Republicans in other states, was an enthusiastic backer of Trump even during some of the most difficult spells during the campaign. The governor’s older son, Eric, served as state director for Trump’s campaign.


    Iowa favored Trump by about 9 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Clinton, after twice voting for President Barack Obama.

    Trump carried Iowa by the largest margin for a Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1980.


    China is Iowa’s second-largest export market, behind Canada. Figures from the U.S.-China Business Council show Iowa exported $2.3 billion in goods and $273 million in services to China in 2015.

    Crop production accounted for some $1.4 billion of the exports. Agricultural machinery, chemicals and other products were also sold.


    Among the main challenges facing the new ambassador will be Trump’s potential trade policy, including a vow to name China as a currency manipulator; state-sponsored computer hacking; and tensions surrounding China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.


    If Branstad is confirmed, it would trigger a domino effect in the state that would include Iowa getting its first female governor with the ascension of Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, 59, Branstad’s desired political heir.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ar...ina-ambassador

    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


    Sign in and post comments here.

    Please support our fight against illegal immigration by joining ALIPAC's email alerts here https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    PARADISE (San Diego)
    Posts
    99,040
    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


    Sign in and post comments here.

    Please support our fight against illegal immigration by joining ALIPAC's email alerts here https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 4
    Last Post: 01-19-2016, 09:55 PM
  2. Branstad doesn’t want kids who crossed US/Mexico border sent to Iowa
    By JohnDoe2 in forum illegal immigration News Stories & Reports
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 07-14-2014, 09:39 PM
  3. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 06-16-2013, 11:43 AM
  4. Iowa Governor Denounces Iowa Packing Plant
    By JohnDoe2 in forum illegal immigration News Stories & Reports
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-26-2008, 03:03 PM
  5. Thompson picks up Iowa endorsement
    By GREGAGREATAMERICAN in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 12-21-2007, 06:38 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •