Who Trump will choose as the next US Ambassador to China has been a focus of attention in recent times.

On December 5th, Trump finally announced on his social media platform that he has officially nominated former Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue as the next U.S. Ambassador to China.

The US Ambassador to China is the overall leader of the US diplomatic institutions in China, directly under the command of the US President, responsible for supervising the operation of US diplomacy in China and playing an important role in influencing the development of Sino US relations.
Who are they?
Perdue, who was of the same age as New China, was born in 1949 into a teacher family in Georgia, USA. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master’s degree in Operations Research from Georgia Institute of Technology.

A renowned domineering CEO.

Like Trump, Perdue also comes from a business background and has been engaged in corporate management and international trade for 40 years.

Perdue has served as a senior executive at companies such as Reebok, Dollar General, and North Carolina textile company PillowTex.

On Wall Street, Perdue is known as a transformation expert, adept at helping companies revive their brands, turn losses into profits, and successfully assist several well-known American companies in improving their products and expanding their businesses.

Perdue has lived twice in Asia and has resided in Singapore and Hong Kong for many years.

According to US media reports, during his tenure at Dale Company, he actively promoted the chain store’s entry into the Chinese market; During his tenure at Sally Company, he pushed the company to expand its business in the Asian market starting from Hong Kong.

In this sense, Perdue can be considered one of the few “pro China” figures in American politics.

Trump also recognized this point and emphasized in his statement Purdue’s extensive business experience in China, stating that he is “very suitable for the position of US Ambassador to China”.

A short-lived federal senator.

After gaining some fame in the business world, Perdue began to turn to the political stage.

In 2014, Perdue defeated his Democratic opponent and was successfully elected as a United States Senator from Georgia, but failed to win re-election in 2020, losing the seat that the Republican Party had held for many years.

During his tenure in the United States Senate, he served on both the Military Affairs Committee and the Maritime Forces Subcommittee, as well as on the Foreign Relations Committee, a rare dual role in the Republican Party.

In 2022, Perdue ran for governor of Georgia with the support of Trump, but ultimately ended in failure.

During his tenure as a senator, Perdue was the most active securities trader in the Senate, with one person’s trading volume accounting for one-third of all senators’ trading volume, far exceeding other members of the United States Congress, and was once known as the “Congressional Stock God”.

Why him?

In the nomination statement, Trump praised Perdue as a “loyal supporter” and “friend,” demonstrating Perdue’s weight in Trump’s heart.

Loyalty is unwavering.
Like other candidates nominated by Trump for this term, loyalty is the first factor for Trump to choose Perdue.

During his tenure as a senator, Perdue remained loyal to Trump and aligned with him on almost all issues.

When Trump’s tough immigration policy during his first term sparked widespread controversy both domestically and internationally, as a supporter of Trump, Perdue immediately stepped forward to promote the necessity of Trump’s immigration policy, stating that it was a key measure to safeguard US national security and employment opportunities, and to protect US interests.
When Trump faced the controversy surrounding the “Russia Gate” investigation, many politicians chose to protect themselves or watch cautiously. However, Perdue stepped forward to question the fairness and legality of the investigation, claiming that it was a political conspiracy by opponents against Trump, attempting to smear the Trump administration and help Trump clear the way.
Such an unreserved act of loyalty to Trump naturally received corresponding political feedback.
Similar to Trump.
Some analysts believe that whether in business or politics, Perdue’s style of action is very similar to Trump’s.

During his tenure as a corporate executive, Perdue adhered to a conservative philosophy, was adept at resource integration, and focused on improving economic efficiency. This is highly similar to Trump’s business style, which is known for being bold, direct, and focused on maximizing profits.

During his tenure as a senator, Perdue, like Trump, was also an “anti establishment”.

Perdue supports the “America First” policy, supports imposing tariffs on China, recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, supports the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and opposes accepting immigrants.

In addition, Perdue also opposes gun control, education reform in the United States, same-sex marriage, and so on.

Overall, Trump chose Perdue because the two have a highly aligned political stance and business philosophy. He hopes that through this appointment, Perdue can more effectively implement his political strategy in the diplomatic field.

My cousin paved the way.

Perdue’s cousin Sonny Perdue has extensive political experience, having served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture during Trump’s first term and previously as the governor of Georgia.
During Trump’s first term, there were many changes in government officials, but Sunny accompanied him from beginning to end and helped ease the dissatisfaction of domestic farmers during Trump’s trade war.
With his elder brother paving the way and Trump’s nepotistic approach, Perdue naturally has a smooth political path.

What is the attitude towards China?

Perdue claims to be a “China observer” and has a certain understanding of China’s politics, economy, and culture.
In terms of attitude towards China, this’ China observer ’emphasizes both competition and cooperation.
There is a strong side towards China.
During his tenure as a US senator, Perdue took a firm stance on the technological competition between China and the United States.
He claimed that China’s technological rise would pose a comprehensive threat to the United States in military, economic, and ideological fields. He advocated that the United States must enhance its innovation capabilities and take effective measures to curb the further development of Chinese technology, viewing the competition between China and the United States in technology as a long-term and arduous struggle.
At the same time, Perdue has repeatedly made anti China remarks and attacked China on issues such as trade, human rights, and religious freedom, advocating for an increase in defense budget and calling for stricter diplomatic measures.
In addition, Perdue has repeatedly portrayed the so-called ‘China threat’. He deliberately misinterpreted the ancient Chinese saying ‘there cannot be two suns in the sky’ as implying that China has a hegemonic gene.
After the successful completion of the lunar mission by Chang’e-4, Perdue publicly declared that China wants to “dominate space”.
When talking about the South China Sea issue, Perdue said that the United States wants to “push back” by carrying out so-called “freedom of navigation” operations in the “misled” areas.
This kind of speech is undoubtedly a serious damage to China’s sovereignty and security interests, and it is also a concrete manifestation of the hegemonic thinking of the United States.
There is also a side of cooperation with China.
In 2019, he clearly stated at a seminar held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in the United States, that China and the United States faced two choices: one was to get involved in an arms race and slide towards the Cold War; The second is to coexist as two major economic powers, competing and cooperating.
He emphasized that decoupling from China would be a ‘huge mistake’.
During the trade war launched by Trump in his last term, Perdue also sent a signal of easing tensions to China.
In a commentary he wrote in 2019, he recalled telling Liu He, then China’s chief trade negotiator, that “cooperation is our (US) ultimate goal
It can be seen that Perdue still has a clear understanding of the objective fact of the interdependence between the Chinese and American economies, as well as the importance of cooperation for both sides and even global economic stability.

Perdue once said that the United States’ desire to change China’s thinking by engaging with China and helping it become prosperous in the 1980s and 1990s was “too naive and arrogant”, and that “the outdated view of China by the United States may cause the United States to miss opportunities, and even lead to dangerous misjudgment or self satisfaction”.
Perdue also wrote an article praising China, stating that one of its advantages is the ability to formulate development plans for the next few decades, which is particularly evident in the development of China’s innovative economy. The United States needs to replicate China’s approach.
In addition, Perdue emphasized that the China US relationship cannot be a “zero sum game”, and both sides should seek solutions that can bring a “win-win” situation to both countries.
That is to say, to a certain extent, Perdue realized that the complementarity between the Chinese and American economies far outweighs their competitiveness, and the essence of China US economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win.
Overall, Perdue not only has intricate connections with China, but also has made significant profits in the Chinese market.

This time, Trump’s choice of the “pro China” Perdue as the ambassador to China seems to convey a signal of parallel competition and cooperation with China in his second term.

The steady development of China US relations is not only related to the two peoples, but also to the future and destiny of mankind.
The ‘Thucydides Trap’ is not the fate of history. The ‘New Cold War’ cannot be won, and containment of China is unwise, unacceptable, and will not succeed.
When Perdue arrives in Beijing, he will soon realize that reality is far more complex than theory, and cooperation is far more cost-effective than confrontation.