US appoints interim charge d'affaires at embassy in Beijing - Reuters

The US State Department has announced that it will appoint a senior diplomat to oversee its 1,300-person embassy in Beijing and consulates in China, while Washington's nominee for ambassador, David Perdue, awaits Senate confirmation, Reuters reports, UNN writes.

Details

Annie Wu, the current head of the political department at the American Institute in Taipei (AIT), Washington's de facto embassy in Taiwan, will become the interim chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy, a State Department spokesman told Reuters on Thursday evening.

"Annie Wu will serve as interim chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy in Beijing. She will head the mission in China until the arrival of the Senate-approved ambassador," the spokesman said.

Reuters was unable to determine when Wu would take office. Her appointment comes at a volatile time for US-China relations, amid US President Donald Trump's threat to escalate a trade war with Beijing after doubling tariffs on Chinese imports this month over the flow of fentanyl precursors from China into the country.

Addition

Deputy Chief of Mission Sarah Beran, a seasoned career civil servant who was in charge of China at the National Security Council (NSC) under former US President Joe Biden's administration, has been in charge of the embassy since former US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns left in January with the change of US President.

Former Senator David Perdue was nominated by Trump in December to be the US representative to China. Trump emphasized Perdue's extensive business experience in Asia as an advantage in managing the current tense relationship.

Perdue, a Republican from Georgia who served in the Senate from 2015 to 2021, previously lived in Hong Kong for 40 years as a business executive.

Democrats have complained that in his business career he has relied on outsourcing American manufacturing jobs to Asia, a practice Trump has vowed to end.

Members of the US Senate may decide to expedite the nomination for ambassador, but sometimes the process can be delayed for political reasons. A date for Perdue's confirmation hearing has not been set.

According to data on the website of the US Embassy and Consulates in China, the embassy complex in Beijing employs more than 1,300 American and local staff representing nearly 50 different US federal agencies.