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The U.S. State Department announced that it would install a senior diplomat to oversee the 1,300 strong embassy and consulates of Washington in China, while Washington’s Ambassadorial nominee David Perdue waits for Senate confirmation.
Anny Vu will temporarily become the charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy, according to a State Department spokesperson late Thursday. Vu is currently the political section chief for the American Institute in Taipei, Washington’s de facto embassy in Taiwan.
“Anny Vu is the Charge d’Affaires Ad Interim at U.S. embassy Beijing. The spokesperson stated that she will be in charge of Mission China until a Senate confirmed ambassador arrives.
Her appointment comes during a delicate time for U.S. – China relations. President Donald Trump has threatened to escalate a war of trade with Beijing after doubling tariffs against Chinese imports this month due to the flow of precursors fentanyl from China into the United States.
Sarah Beran is the current Deputy Chief Mission. She was the China representative on the National Security Council of the Biden Administration, the former U.S. president. Nicholas Burns was the former ambassador to China. He left the embassy in January when the U.S. President changed.
CHINA EXPERIENCE
According to her biography on the AIT site, Vu was a senior policy coordinator at the State Department’s “China House” in Washington before she took up the post in Taiwan.
She worked in the NSC during the first Trump administration as well as the Biden administration and held several positions, including China director at one time.
She won the American Foreign Service Association Award in 2021 for “constructive dissension” for her efforts to counter Chinese influence at the United Nations. The website for the award said that she lobbied to have China’s candidates defeated during the elections for two U.N. agencies.
In December, Trump nominated former Senator David Perdue to be the U.S. ambassador to China. Trump cited Perdue’s extensive experience in Asia to manage current tensions between the two countries.
Perdue was a Republican senator from Georgia from 2015 to 2021. He lived in Hong Kong for 40 years as a successful businessman.
Democrats have complained about Trump’s business career and how he outsourced American manufacturing jobs overseas. Trump has promised to stop this practice.
The U.S. Senate may decide to expedite an ambassadorial appointment, but sometimes the process is delayed for political reasons. Perdue has not yet been scheduled for his confirmation hearing.
According to the website for the U.S. Consulates and Embassy in China, there are more than 1,300 American staff and local employees who represent almost 50 U.S. federal agencies at the Beijing embassy.
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