US to name senator as next ambassador to China

President Barack Obama will name US Senator Max Baucus the next ambassador to Beijing, Reuters reported, citing Senate aides. The Senate must confirm Baucus, who is currently the head of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees tax and trade policy and has taken a tough stance on some of China’s trade practices. In July, Baucus and three other influential members of Congress wrote to Obama to press China over the country’s business practices. The nomination comes as relations between the United States and China are straining due to territorial disputes in the East China Sea and South China Sea.