Donald Trump picks former senator and CEO David Perdue for ambassador to China

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world

President-elect Donald Trump has named former senator David Perdue to serve as ambassador to Beijing in one of the most critical US diplomatic roles given the prospect for rising tensions with China.

Trump said Perdue, a former Fortune 500 chief executive who has lived in Hong Kong and Singapore and previously represented Georgia in the Senate, was a “loyal supporter and friend”.

“He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain Peace in the region, and a productive working relationship with China’s leaders,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump said Perdue’s four-decade international business career provided “valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China”.

The choice stood in contrast to some of Trump’s other picks for national security roles that will be critical for relations with China. He has chosen Florida senator Marco Rubio, a vocal China hawk, for secretary of state, and Mike Waltz, a congressman and China critic, for national security adviser.

One former US official said the choice of Perdue “underscores a growing trend where diplomacy is a function of corporate influence”. It suggested Trump might prefer someone who could facilitate economic deals rather than more traditional diplomacy, the former official said.

“His deep ties to the business world and wealth that was generated from companies that outsourced manufacturing to China and elsewhere in Asia appear to contradict . . . Trump’s stated China priorities and goals,” he added.

Michael Pillsbury, an expert on the Chinese military who has advised the Trump team, said Beijing would be relieved at the choice and that Chinese leaders would be “breathing a sigh of relief at the appointment of an experienced wealthy businessman”.

Trump has vowed to impose 60 per cent tariffs on imports from China. But it remains unclear whether he will first attempt to negotiate a trade deal with Beijing or forge ahead with the levies early in his presidency in an effort to create leverage for later trade talks.

US-China relations remain close to their lowest point since the countries established diplomatic ties in 1979. Chinese officials have in recent months been desperate to work out what stance Trump plans to take towards China. One person close to Beijing said Chinese officials and scholars were asking the same question: “What does Trump want?”

Perdue, 74, has held a number of senior US corporate roles. He was chief executive of the sports footwear brand Reebok and later of Dollar General, a national chain of discount stores.

During six years in the Senate, he served on the armed services and foreign relations committees.

One former congressional aide said Perdue was “not a traditional hawk” but would not be a pushover. “The question is how influential he will be with Waltz and Rubio and the decision-making process on China, on tariffs, sanctions and Taiwan.”

Perdue has also taken positions on trade that run counter to Trump. He was an early supporter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed multilateral trade deal, but changed his position when Trump pulled the US out of the agreement.

In 2014, Perdue portrayed himself as a business “outsider” in his first Senate race. He won the seat during a good year for Republicans, despite comments that surfaced from 2005 in which he said he “spent most of my career outsourcing” jobs to Asia.

Trump chose his brother, Sonny Perdue, to be agriculture secretary in 2017.

If confirmed, Perdue will succeed Nick Burns, a former career diplomat whom President Joe Biden chose as ambassador.