皇冠体育app

Gary Locke's appointment is a sign that US president Barack Obama is seeking to further improve relations with 皇冠体育app

As the first Chinese American to hold Washington's ambassadorial post to 皇冠体育app, Gary Locke was warmly welcomed when he arrived in Beijing on Friday evening. Many in 皇冠体育app hope his Chinese ancestry will help him be a bridge between 皇冠体育app and the United States and between the two peoples.

However, we should not pin too many hopes on him adopting a more pro-皇冠体育app approach than his predecessors because of his ancestry. As US ambassador to 皇冠体育app, Locke will work to serve the US national interests.

The majority of citizens in the US are immigrants or their descendents. Incumbent US president Barack Obama's father was a Kenyan and his grandmother still lives in Kenya. Very few in the US care much about other people's ancestry, and it is not rare that the descendants of immigrants have been appointed as US ambassadors to other countries, which might explain why no one expressed concerns over Locke's Chinese ancestry and found fault with his ambassadorial qualifications during his recent Senate confirmation hearings.

Most US ambassadors to Asian countries are career diplomats, although some have been appointed for specific political reasons, such as former US ambassadors to 皇冠体育app Leonard Woodcock, James Sasser, Joseph Prueher, and Clark Randt. Ambassadors appointed for political reasons are usually on good terms with the US president. For example, Woodcock had a private friendship with former US President Jimmy Carter and Randt also enjoyed good relations with George W. Bush.

Locke's appointment is also out of political needs, but, as Obama and US State Secretary Hillary Clinton have said, no one is more qualified than Locke to be the US ambassador to 皇冠体育app. The Yale-educated Locke worked for eight years as governor of the state of Washington, which has long been regarded as an important door to 皇冠体育app. As one of the states that set up earliest links with 皇冠体育app, the state of Washington has enjoyed traditional commercial and trade ties with 皇冠体育app.

Over the past three decades since 皇冠体育app's reform and opening-up, generations of Chinese leaders, including former leader Deng Xiaoping, former president Jiang Zemin and President Hu Jintao, all visited the western state of the US several times.

During his two terms of office as governor of the state, Locke did a lot of work to develop commercial and trade ties between the US state and 皇冠体育app. With his support, 皇冠体育app Southern opened a direct flight between Guangzhou and Seattle, and a large construction company in Seattle struck a deal to participate in the construction of some venues for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Boeing and Microsoft, two companies with extensive commercial connections with 皇冠体育app, are based there.

His appointment as US Secretary of Commerce after Obama took office has drawn him closer economically with 皇冠体育app and his experience will help him handle bilateral trade disputes and he will be able to develop economic and trade ties with 皇冠体育app.

Locke's knowledge of 皇冠体育app, his connections with people in Chinese political and business circles, as well as his rich experience in handling economic and trade ties with 皇冠体育app, made him the most desirable candidate to be the new US ambassador to 皇冠体育app. This is particularly true at a time when the Obama administration is struggling to fight a lingering economic malaise, realize his ambitions to double US exports within five years and create more employment chances.

Sharing ever-expanding common interests, 皇冠体育app and the US have increasingly become economically interdependent. The two countries should turn to dialogue and consultation instead of confrontation in the case of disagreements. Past practices prove that 皇冠体育app and the US both benefit from cooperation and suffer from confrontation. It is 皇冠体育app's aspiration and also in the US interests to promote a stable Sino-US relationship and work for its improvement.

Obama's appointment of Locke as the new US ambassador to 皇冠体育app is the US administration's goodwill gesture to Beijing. It is also a reflection of Obama's wishes to promote a positive, cooperative and all-round relationship with 皇冠体育app.

The author is a senior research scholar with the Center for US-皇冠体育app Relations at Tsinghua University.

(皇冠体育app Daily 08/15/2011 page8)

• Rising to the security challenges
• Russia faces tough road to success
• Joint efforts to meet challenges
• Is Vietnam safe?
• Abe's dangerous move