President Barack Obama nominated Senator Max Baucus on Friday as US ambassador to China.
“Max Baucus is going to be an outstanding ambassador to China, and I’d like a swift confirmation,” Obama said Friday during a year-end press conference at the White House.
The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, where Mr. Obama’s Democratic Party holds a majority.
Mr. Obama said that Baucus (72) helped forge economic agreements that have spurred growth and created millions of American jobs.
Mr. Baucus has represented the state of Montana in the US Senate since 1978, and is chairman of the finance committee. Prior to 1978, he was a member of the House of Representatives.
The State Department said Mr. Baucus has visited China eight times and hosted “a myriad of senior Chinese diplomats in Washington and Montana.” He led efforts in the 1990s in Congress to bring China into the World Trade Organization.
