Finding the Right Ambassador To China

The frontrunner to be U.S. ambassador to China is Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a longtime friend of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Bloomberg reported.A decision could come after Branstad meets with members of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team in New York this week, said three people with knowledge of the matter.Branstad is the longest-serving governor in US history. He was already scheduled to be in New York for issues related to Iowa economic development, his spokesman said. Now, meetings with Trump transition officials are expected to be added to that schedule.Meanwhile, reports indicate President-elect Trump is expanding his search for secretary of state and plans to interview more candidates this week. They include John Bolton, a former United Nations ambassador; Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor who also served as the ambassador to China and speaks Mandarin; Rex Tillerson, the president and chief executive of Exxon Mobil; and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.The Associated Press reported that, "According to two people close to the transition, Trump is moving away from two of the front-runners for the job, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee. ... Former CIA director David Petraeus is still in the mix, though both people close to the transition said Trump's prolonged decision-making process has left the door open to other options."Given the apparent shift on the post of secretary of state, this is yet another indication that those currently on a list for a given post may not be the eventual person chose for that job.