US: Donald Trump nominates former Georgia senator David Perdue to serve as ambassador to China

US: David Perdue, a former senator from Georgia, has been nominated by Donald Trump to be ambassador to China. Newsweek has examined his prior remarks against China.

Trump quickly unveiled his cabinet choices, and on Thursday, he said he had chosen Perdue to assist him in developing a “productive working relationship with China’s leaders.” Perdue has extensive commercial expertise in Asia and has resided in Singapore and Hong Kong.

With Trump, who is pushing “America-first” policies, announcing his intention to slap further taxes on China, the new government takes office amid escalating tensions between the United States and China.

Purdue was targeted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) during his 2020 Senate reelection campaign for his “record of outsourcing work to Asia and his history of ‘establishing relationships with the Chinese government’.”

In fact, Purdue was “proud” of his outsourcing to China when a reporter asked him how he would defend it during the 2014 campaign.

“This is a part of American business, part of any business,” he said. In other words, outsourcing is the process of acquiring goods or services to support the operations of your company.

Purdue acknowledged that “entire industries have been decimated,” but he attributed this development to “bad government policies” rather than outsourcing.

The Huffington Post revealed in 2020 that Purdue had omitted details about his connections to China from a campaign video he had promoted in a nearly similar video from 2014.

Purdue had warned the United States two years before that China was determined to win the space battle.

“I have been a China watcher for much of my career,” he said. “China has considered space to be a military endeavor for the last 30 years. We must acknowledge that.

Newsweek has emailed Trump’s transition team to get comment and to inquire about how to get in touch with Purdue.

Purdue, a Republican senator from Georgia from 2015 to 2021, was a member of both the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees.

“I am announcing that former U.S. Senator, David Perdue, has accepted my appointment as the next United States Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Purdue’s nomination. David, a Fortune 500 CEO with 40 years of international business experience and a U.S. Senate seat, offers invaluable experience to strengthen our ties with China.

“He spent a large portion of his career working in Asia and China, and he has resided in Singapore and Hong Kong. He chaired the influential Sea Power Subcommittee while serving on the Armed Services Committee in the U.S. Senate. The only Republican to serve on both committees, he was also a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

“He will play a key role in carrying out my plan to keep the peace in the area and foster a fruitful working relationship with the leaders of China. David has been a devoted friend and supporter, and I’m excited to collaborate with him in his new position.”