The US Department of State said it would install a senior diplomat to oversee its 1,300-strong embassy in Beijing and consulates in China while Washington’s ambassadorial pick, David Perdue, awaits Senate confirmation.
Anny Vu, current political section chief at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Washington’s de facto embassy in Taiwan, is to become charge d’affaires at the US embassy on a temporary basis, a state department spokesperson told Reuters late on Thursday.
“Anny Vu will serve as charge d’affaires ad interim at US embassy Beijing. She will lead Mission China until the arrival of a Senate-confirmed ambassador,” the spokesperson said.
Reuters could not establish when Vu is to take up the post. Her appointment comes at a fragile time for US-China relations, as US President Donald Trump threatens to escalate a trade war with Beijing after doubling tariffs on Chinese imports this month over the flow of fentanyl precursors from China into the country.
US Deputy Chief of Mission Sarah Beran, an experienced career civil servant who was responsible for China under former US president Joe Biden’s National Security Council (NSC), has been running the embassy since the former US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, left in January with the change of the US president.
Before her Taiwan posting, Vu held a senior role in the state department’s “China House” policy coordination office in Washington, according to a biography on the AIT Web site.
She also worked at the NSC under the first Trump administration and the Biden administration in several roles, including at one point as China director.
Perdue, a former US senator, was nominated by Trump in December to be the US envoy to China. Trump highlighted Perdue’s extensive business experience in Asia as an asset in managing current tensions in the relationship.
Members of the Senate can decide to fast-track an ambassadorial nomination, but the process can sometimes be delayed due to political reasons. No date has been set for Perdue’s confirmation hearing.
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