BREAKING NEWS

Iowa governor Branstad is Trump's pick as China ambassador

By REUTERS

DECEMBER 7, 2016 08:29

The governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's offer to be US ambassador to China, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

Trump was scheduled to meet Branstad on Tuesday, his transition team said earlier, without elaborating.

Branstad's office could not be immediately reached for comment and Trump's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters, outside business hours.

Trump's dealings with China have been in focus since Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called him last week to congratulate him.

The call raised consternation in Beijing, which sees the self-ruled island as a renegade province and objects to other governments dealing with it.

Trump's conversation with Tsai was the first such contact with Taiwan by a US president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter adopted a "one-China" policy in 1979, recognizing only the Beijing government.

China suspects Tsai wants to push for the formal independence of Taiwan.

Branstad called Chinese President Xi Jinping a "long-time friend" when Xi visited Iowa in 2012.

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