‘Mayor Pete’ Buttigieg could be heading to China as Joe Biden’s pick for ambassador role
- Appointment would boost the small town mayor’s chances in future US presidential race, online news report says
- Buttigieg’s name is also said to be under discussion for a number of domestic leadership positions in new administration
Former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg may be headed for China as the incoming Biden administration’s ambassador to Beijing, according to US news website Axios.
The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said Biden was considering the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana for the post – deepening his foreign policy chops and boosting his chances if he returns, as expected, to a future presidential race.
However, Axios said Buttigieg was also under discussion for a number of domestic leadership positions, including transport or commerce.
He was seen as a contender for the US ambassador post at the UN, which went instead to Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
If Buttigieg does go to China, he would be following in the footsteps of former president George HW Bush, who was appointed to the liaison office in Beijing by the Ford administration in 1974, before the two countries had established formal diplomatic ties
In an op-ed for The Washington Post in May, Buttigieg described Donald Trump as “China’s dream candidate” and said the Chinese government would be more than happy to deal with him for four more years.
“As a strategic competitor, China welcomes a polarised, paralysed America. Trump’s answer has been a raft of policies that play into China’s long-range plans while lashing out more recently with rhetoric that encourages bigotry and a surge of hate crimes against Asian Americans,” he wrote.
“Beijing sees an opportunity to call into question the American project, and liberal democracy itself. One thing they’re banking on is four more years of Trump.”
