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Dec. 6, 2024 / 7:12 AM

Trump picks David Perdue as ambassador to China

Former Sen. David Perdue waits for a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on September 30, 2020. He was selected for President-elect Donald Trump as his ambassador to China. File Photo by Anna Moneymaker/UPI

Former Sen. David Perdue waits for a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on September 30, 2020. He was selected for President-elect Donald Trump as his ambassador to China. File Photo by Anna Moneymaker/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 6 (UPI) -- President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Georgia Sen. David Perdue as ambassador to China at a time when the country's relationship with the United States is particularly tense.

Trump cited Perdue's business experience in picking him to step into the rough waters of diplomacy between the two countries. Trump has already promised to impose 10% tariffs on Chinese goods until the country stops the global spread of chemicals associated with fentanyl.

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"As a Fortune 500 CEO, who has a 40-year international business career, and served in the U.S. Senate, David brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China," Trump said on Truth Social.

"He has lived in Singapore and Hong Kong and worked in Asia and China for much of his career. In the U.S. Senate, he served on the Armed Services Committee, where he was chair of the powerful Sea Power committees. He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain peace in the region."

Perdue is the former CEO of Dollar General and the lead executive at Sara Lee and Reebok. He also led the company's restructuring and worldwide expansion plans.

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Perdue was known as a fiscal conservative and pro-business during his time in the Senate, but lost his re-election bid to Democrat Jon Osoff in 2021. Trump had recruited Perdue to run against current Georgia governor Brian Kemp in Kemp's re-election bid.

Kemp beat Perdue for the governorship, which was seen at the time as a possible slippage in Trump's influence in the Republican Party.

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