Page 14 - The South China Business Journal
P. 14
OVER STORY
The Iowan who has the ear Photo by Kelsey Kremer
of the leaders of two world
superpowers stepped up to a That means ultimately persuading President Xi Jinping to shift
lectern inside a crowded living direction. Xi has been consolidating his power and emerged from his
room of his sumptuous new home Communist party’s 19th National Congress widely acknowledged as
— half a world away from where China’s most powerful ruler since founding father Mao Zedong.
he had spent most of his 70 years.
It is with Xi that Branstad’s greatest influence may lie. The two have
On a late September evening, been friends since Xi toured Iowa’s fertile farmland at Branstad’s side
Terry Branstad, Iowa’s longest- more than three decades ago.
serving governor and the United
States’ newest ambassador to China, Branstad’s established relationship with Xi and his fervent belief
addressed an elite cocktail-party crowd in the “importance of the U.S.-China relationship” give him “the
of more than 100 Chinese dignitaries, potential to be a very trusted and balanced voice” in Beijing, said
expats and visiting Americans. Missouri first lady Sheena Greitens, an expert on China, Korea and
Asia who helped prep Branstad for his U.S. Senate confirmation
“Welcome to the governor’s … no,” hearing and who attended the embassy bash.
he interrupted himself with a chuckle
and shake of his head. “I kind of fell Trump’s top priorities while he is in China, Branstad said, are
back into my old habits there. addressing the threat from North Korea and reducing America’s trade
imbalance with China.
“Welcome to the ambassador’s
residence in Beijing, China.” The trip will give Branstad an up-close opportunity to provide a bridge
between two world leaders with often sharply different agendas.
Branstad’s mild misstep was a
reminder of the improbable path As Iowa governor, Branstad and his family supported Trump in
that took him from a marathon 2016’s slugfest of a presidential campaign. Branstad even issued an
tenure as the folksy governor of a 11th-hour plea during the Iowa caucuses for then-favorite Sen. Ted
landlocked Midwestern state to his Cruz to be defeated.
current and much more exotic job as
America’s chief liaison to the most
populous country on the planet.
He now confronts formidable issues
that are playing out on a world stage
that captured global media attention
during President Donald Trump’s
visit here Nov. 8-10. Trump’s tour of
five Asian nations was his longest
foreign trip since taking office.
In his new job, Branstad must deal
with a resurgent China that already
is the world’s No. 2 economy and has
designs on surpassing the U.S., while
exerting its increasing leverage to
assume a greater leadership role in
global affairs.
He must also apply pressure to a
Chinese leadership reluctant to more
aggressively rein in North Korea, its
unpredictable neighbor and fellow
communist country.
12 AmCham South China
The Iowan who has the ear Photo by Kelsey Kremer
of the leaders of two world
superpowers stepped up to a That means ultimately persuading President Xi Jinping to shift
lectern inside a crowded living direction. Xi has been consolidating his power and emerged from his
room of his sumptuous new home Communist party’s 19th National Congress widely acknowledged as
— half a world away from where China’s most powerful ruler since founding father Mao Zedong.
he had spent most of his 70 years.
It is with Xi that Branstad’s greatest influence may lie. The two have
On a late September evening, been friends since Xi toured Iowa’s fertile farmland at Branstad’s side
Terry Branstad, Iowa’s longest- more than three decades ago.
serving governor and the United
States’ newest ambassador to China, Branstad’s established relationship with Xi and his fervent belief
addressed an elite cocktail-party crowd in the “importance of the U.S.-China relationship” give him “the
of more than 100 Chinese dignitaries, potential to be a very trusted and balanced voice” in Beijing, said
expats and visiting Americans. Missouri first lady Sheena Greitens, an expert on China, Korea and
Asia who helped prep Branstad for his U.S. Senate confirmation
“Welcome to the governor’s … no,” hearing and who attended the embassy bash.
he interrupted himself with a chuckle
and shake of his head. “I kind of fell Trump’s top priorities while he is in China, Branstad said, are
back into my old habits there. addressing the threat from North Korea and reducing America’s trade
imbalance with China.
“Welcome to the ambassador’s
residence in Beijing, China.” The trip will give Branstad an up-close opportunity to provide a bridge
between two world leaders with often sharply different agendas.
Branstad’s mild misstep was a
reminder of the improbable path As Iowa governor, Branstad and his family supported Trump in
that took him from a marathon 2016’s slugfest of a presidential campaign. Branstad even issued an
tenure as the folksy governor of a 11th-hour plea during the Iowa caucuses for then-favorite Sen. Ted
landlocked Midwestern state to his Cruz to be defeated.
current and much more exotic job as
America’s chief liaison to the most
populous country on the planet.
He now confronts formidable issues
that are playing out on a world stage
that captured global media attention
during President Donald Trump’s
visit here Nov. 8-10. Trump’s tour of
five Asian nations was his longest
foreign trip since taking office.
In his new job, Branstad must deal
with a resurgent China that already
is the world’s No. 2 economy and has
designs on surpassing the U.S., while
exerting its increasing leverage to
assume a greater leadership role in
global affairs.
He must also apply pressure to a
Chinese leadership reluctant to more
aggressively rein in North Korea, its
unpredictable neighbor and fellow
communist country.
12 AmCham South China
