Expert tapped for top Asia post
The White House’s nomination of Susan Thornton as top US diplomat for East Asia will act as a positive signal in China-US relations, which face a variety of uncertainties, experts say.
“Thornton is very familiar with China, and I think she understands very well about the complexity of China-US relations. This may help the US to be more rational in the diplomatic policymaking process, especially regarding China,” said Yuan Zheng, director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The White House announced on Tuesday that President Donald Trump had nominated Thornton, a career foreign service member, as top US diplomat for East Asia.
Thornton has been serving in the position on an acting basis since soon after Trump took office. The post has been vacant since the departure of Daniel Russel, who served in the administration of former US president Barack Obama. Thornton is expected to handle relations with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and other Asian countries.
The appointment requires confirmation from the US Senate.
Thornton, who speaks fluent Mandarin and Russian, has engaged in important foreign affairs issues related to ChinaUS relations, and has previously worked in China and the former Soviet Union. She is the first woman nominated as assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific.
In November, she accompanied Trump during his first visit to Beijing.
“The nomination is important as it means Thornton will be able to take more initiative in making US foreign policy, including policies regarding China. For any position that is contemporary, people have limited motivation to make important efforts in many directions,” Yuan said. “Thornton’s current acting capacity is, after all, contemporary, and I expect her to be more motivated in making foreign policy once she takes up the post.”
He Weibao, a researcher also at the Institute of American Studies, said the nomination reflects Trump’s efforts, after experiencing several foreign policy setbacks, to adjust his foreign policy to operate in a “more professional way, as Thornton is regarded as a very professional China hand”.
AP contributed to this story.