BEIJING (AP) – A self-described “farm boy from Iowa” has arrived as the new U.S. ambassador to China at a time of greater unpredictability in American foreign diplomacy under President Donald Trump.
Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad says he’ll focus on expanding trade between the world’s two biggest economies and neutralizing the threat from North Korea.
Branstad starts off with a major advantage: He’s known China’s president since Xi Jinping visited Iowa as a county-level party cadre as part of a 1985 trade delegation.
Professor Shi Yinhong with Renmin University says that longstanding friendship will be a valuable asset. But Shi says it’s less certain how much influence Branstad wields with Trump, who has sent mixed signals on China since taking office.