U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad will step down to work on President Donald Trump's re-election campaign, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said on Monday, departing Beijing at a time when the ties between the world's top two economies are at their worst in decades.
Branstad, previously the longest-serving governor of Iowa, a state in the U.S. Farm Belt which helped Trump get elected in 2016, will leave China in early October, the U.S. embassy said in a statement.
Republican Trump won Iowa by about 9 percentage points in 2016 after his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama had won in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
Trump was expected to win the state easily in 2020 against Democratic candidate Joe Biden, but some opinion polls show the race tightening, attracting money from Democrats in the U.S. Senate and presidential race who now see the state as winnable.
Sources familiar with the matter cite Branstad's popularity in Iowa, having served there as governor for over two decades, as an asset to Trump.
"I suspect the real answer, as usual, is the simplest one: the Trump campaign needs help shoring up Iowa, including making the case to farmers that the President's trade policy has helped them - not an easy sell," said Matthew Goodman, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Trump has tested the loyalty of his rural base in Iowa through his trade wars with China and his handling of corn-based ethanol mandates, a core economy for the state.
On Saturday, Trump hinted that Branstad might be joining the campaign. In a video posted on Twitter by Iowa senator Joni Ernst, Trump said Branstad would be coming home from China "because he wants to campaign."
U.S.-CHINA TIES IN DISARRAY
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a tweet thanked Branstad for his service since being confirmed in May 2017 and said he contributed to rebalancing U.S.-China relations so that it is "results-oriented, reciprocal, and fair."
U.S-China relations have been increasingly fraught over multiple issues including U.S. objection to China's new security law in Hong Kong to Beijing's handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic and its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea.
Branstad's departure leaves the U.S. mission in Beijing without a confirmed ambassador at such a diplomatically critical time and that gap could last for months even if Trump is re-elected on Nov. 3. The Senate is only scheduled to be in session for about two more weeks before Election Day.
The Chinese foreign ministry has in the past described Branstad, who was instrumental in a so-called Phase One trade deal with China, as an "old friend of the Chinese people". He first forged ties with President Xi Jinping several decades ago when Xi visited Iowa.
Reuters
Tue Sep 15 2020
Terry Branstad (right) and Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan toast during an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between US and China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Jan 10, 2019. REUTERS
Pelepasan air terawat Fukushima digantung kerana terputus elektrik
Pelepasan air radioaktif terawat ke laut dari loji janakuasa nuklear Fukushima yang lumpuh digantung pada Rabu berikutan gangguan bekalan elektrik separa, kata pengendali loji itu.
Prabowo rasmi diisytihar Presiden Indonesia
Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Umum (KPU) secara rasmi akan mengisytiharkan Prabowo Subianto sebagai Presiden Indonesia dipilih, dalam satu majlis pada Rabu, seperti yang dijadualkan.
Jerman-UNRWA mungkin bekerjasama semula
Kerajaan Jerman merancang untuk menjalinkan kerjasama dengan agensi Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu bagi pelarian Palestin (UNRWA). Ia susulan daripada kontroversi yang mendakwa anggota petugas UNRWA terlibat dalam serangan di Gaza yang berlaku pada 7 Oktober tahun lalu.
Ini panggilan daripada Allah SWT - Dr Sharifah Mazlina
Ketua Misi Ekspedisi Wanita Berkumpulan ke Antartika, Dr Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir yang merupakan salah seorang peserta dari Malaysia bagi misi Break The Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla menyifatkan penglibatannya dalam misi berkenaan sebagai satu panggilan yang ditentukan Allah.
Tujuh ditahan polis dalam serbuan 'keganasan' Australia
Polis Australia menahan tujuh individu yang menimbulkan risiko dan ancaman kepada orang ramai selepas melakukan serbuan antikeganasan membabitkan lebih 400 pegawainya, pada Rabu.
[TERKINI] UM diminta siasat, sedia laporan segera
Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT) mengambil maklum dan memandang serius isu yang berlaku berhubung tindakan seorang penceramah warga asing mengeluarkan kenyataan yang dilihat mencetuskan kontroversi dan tidak menghormati sentimen masyarakat seperti tular di media sosial.
Astro AWANI dinobat adaptasi AI dalam pemberitaan terbaik di pentas Asia
Astro AWANI dinobat sebagai pemenang Anugerah Digital Media Awards 2024 bagi kategori adaptasi Teknologi Kecerdasan Buatan (AI) dalam pemberitaan terbaik di rantau Asia.
MITI optimis prestasi perdagangan lebih baik pada 2024
Tengku Zafrul menjelaskan, MITI juga memperbaharui fokusnya dengan berpaksikan kepada empat tunjang utama iaitu ekonomi, kelestarian, rakyat dan inovasi.
Pekebun durian musang king gagal dapat kebenaran semakan kehakiman
Mahkamah Tinggi tolak permohoan pekebun musang king untuk semakan kehakiman
Mahkamah Tinggi Kuantan menolak permohonan 186 pekebun durian musang king di sekitar Raub untuk mendapatkan kebenaran semakan kehakiman terhadap notis arahan pengosongan tanah dikeluarkan kerajaan negeri Pahang sebelum ini.
Mahkamah Tinggi Kuantan menolak permohonan 186 pekebun durian musang king di sekitar Raub untuk mendapatkan kebenaran semakan kehakiman terhadap notis arahan pengosongan tanah dikeluarkan kerajaan negeri Pahang sebelum ini.
Inspektor polis ditahan disyaki lakukan amang seksual fizikal
Seorang pegawai polis berpangkat inspektor ditahan bagi membantu siasatan berhubung dakwaan melakukan amang seksual fizikal
ke atas kanak-kanak perempuan berumur 16 tahun.
Ketua Polis Johor, Komisioner Polis M. Kumar berkata suspek yang bertugas di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Pontian dikatakan melakukan kesalahan tersebut pada 22 April 2024 sekitar jam 6 petang di kawasan taman Johor Jaya.
ke atas kanak-kanak perempuan berumur 16 tahun.
Ketua Polis Johor, Komisioner Polis M. Kumar berkata suspek yang bertugas di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Pontian dikatakan melakukan kesalahan tersebut pada 22 April 2024 sekitar jam 6 petang di kawasan taman Johor Jaya.