The Senate on Tuesday confirmed former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) to become the ambassador to China, filling a key role for the administration while it remains embroiled in a trade battle with Beijing.
Senators voted 67-29 to confirm Perdue, who served one term in the upper chamber before losing narrowly in 2020 to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).
The confirmation comes at a crucial time for the administration as it wages a trade war with China. President Trump has slapped a massive 145 percent levy on imports from China, the biggest set of tariffs against any nation as part of the White House’s trade policy. China hit back with a 125 percent tariff on U.S. products.
Despite Trump recently saying he has a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, neither side has blinked.
“Nothing. No update,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Monday on Capitol Hill when asked if there was any movement.
Perdue had attempted to beef up his China bonafides, and during his confirmation hearing, he told Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Beijing is pursuing “a new kind of war” against the U.S.
“Marxist nationalism is reshaping China, and their global ambitions threaten the current world order,” he added.
That was a marked contrast from his time in office, when he offered sympathies toward China over its handling of Hong Kong and called for a more targeted tariff approach during Trump’s first term in the White House.
The ex-Georgia senator also has experience working with China from his time in the private sector.
The confirmation is the first in what is set to be a string of ambassadorial confirmations in the coming days. Senators are expected to confirm Warren Stephens as ambassador to Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Tuesday afternoon, with votes on businessmen Tom Barrack and Tilman Fertitta to become ambassadors to Turkey and Italy, respectively.
