US ambassador to China resigns as 2012 presidential elections loom

US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman has tendered his resignation, an indication that the former Utah governor may put his name forward for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, Bloomberg reported, quoting an administration official speaking on condition of anonymity. Huntsman is expected to leave his post in Beijing on April 30. US President Barack Obama nominated Huntsman, a Mandarin speaker, to the position of ambassador to China on May 16, 2009. Huntsman called China "the most important strategic bilateral relationship" for the US. Relations between the two countries have been rocky over the past several years as Washington and Beijing have repeatedly come to loggerheads over trade issues and the valuation of China’s currency.