By Zachary Keck
The president’s decision to nominate Baucus signals his interest in focusing on economic ties with China.
President Barack Obama will nominate Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) as the next ambassador to China the Washington Post and other publications reported late Wednesday local time.
The move signals that the Obama administration will seek to focus on America’s economic relationship with China as the latter attempts to rebalance its economy to give greater weight to domestic consumption. Baucus is the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He is currently serving in his sixth term as a senator from Montana but announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection in 2014. The 71-year-old lawmaker would’ve faced a tough reelection campaign and was increasingly at odds with his Democratic caucus on crucial pieces of legislation like gun control, which he opposed.
Throughout his 35 year tenure as a senator, Baucus has been a cautious supporter of bringing China into the global economy, and expanding America’s bilateral economic relationship with Beijing.
Read the full story at The Diplomat