BEIJING • The new US ambassador to China has said that stopping the threat posed by North Korea will be a top priority, along with resolving the US-China trade imbalance, according to a video message to the Chinese people released yesterday..
BEIJING • The new US ambassador to China has said that stopping the threat posed by North Korea will be a top priority, along with resolving the US-China trade imbalance, according to a video message to the Chinese people released yesterday.
Mr Terry Branstad, a former Iowa governor, has been described by Beijing as an “old friend” of China.
He was confirmed on May 24 as President Donald Trump’s new ambassador to China but his arrival date has yet to be announced.
“Resolving the bilateral trade imbalance, stopping the North Korea threat, and expanding people-to- people ties will be my top priorities, ” Mr Branstad said in the video message, which was released on a Chinese video-streaming platform.
Mr Trump has placed high hopes on China and President Mr Xi Jinping exerting greater influence on North Korea, although he said last week that Chinese efforts to rein in the reclusive North’s nuclear and missile programmes had failed.
