Obama to nominate Sen. Baucus for ambassador to China

Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who has taken a tough stance against some of China's trade practices, will be nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next ambassador to China, according to Senate aides.

Baucus, who announced earlier this year his intention to retire from the Senate at the end of next year, currently chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which oversees tax and trade policy.

While the 72-year-old Baucus has made multiple trips to China as part of trade delegations, he’s not considered a China expert. He’d be the first non-Chinese speaking U.S. ambassador to China in 13 years, making his expected nomination a surprise, especially as the Obama administration says it is trying to pivot its foreign policy focus to East Asia.

Obama's choice Baucus to be ambassador to China must be confirmed by the Senate. The chamber is not expected to consider the nomination until early next year.

In July, Baucus and three other influential members of Congress wrote Obama to urge him to press China to halt the theft of intellectual property and to curb practices that discriminate against U.S. companies.

A Democratic official, who asked not to be identified, noted that Baucus led the successful U.S. effort in the 1990s to admit China into the World Trade Organization in 2001 and to begin normal bilateral trade relations with the emerging economy.

The nomination, which has not yet been announced by the White House, comes as relations between the United States and China are straining due to territorial disputes in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

A U.S. guided missile cruiser, USS Cowpens, and a Chinese warship operating near China's only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, narrowly avoided collision last week. The near miss followed China's recent announcement of an air defense identification zone covering disputed islands in the East China Sea, which upset U.S. allies Japan and South Korea.

In other issues, Beijing complains that a U.S. strategic policy shift known as the "Pacific pivot" is an attempt to constrain its growing military and political power in the region, while Washington often accuses China of stealing U.S. government and company secrets via cyber theft.

The previous ambassador, Gary Locke, had to deal with tense situations like the attempted defection of Wang Lijun and the successful escape of blind activist Chen Guangcheng. The U.S. ambassador is a high-profile position in Beijing, often discussed in state media and in China's social media. Locke, for instance, became an Internet celebrity in China before even arriving. A photo of Locke buying his own coffee and holding his own backpack went viral, as Chinese netizens were surprised to see an important American official doing such mundane tasks.

A senior Senate aide said that under Montana law, Democratic Governor Steve Bullock will appoint a replacement for Baucus if he becomes ambassador to China.

Democrats currently hold 53 Senate seats and two independents regularly vote with them. There are 45 Republicans in the Senate and if Bullock appoints a Democratic replacement, it would not change the balance of power in the chamber.

Spokesmen for Bullock, who is expected to appoint a Democrat, were not available for comment.

Details were not yet available on whether the replacement would serve through 2014. Baucus' Senate seat was already up for election in November 2014.

Whoever is picked by Bullock would have an incumbent advantage going into next year's election, assuming that person wanted to seek a full term in the Senate. Republicans have set their sights on the Montana seat in their drive to win majority control of the Senate in the 2014 elections.

In recent years, Baucus also has been working on comprehensive reform of the outdated U.S. tax code. But with Congress so divided over how to revamp the complicated law, odds of passing such major legislation in the 2014 election year were seen as slim.

Assuming Baucus leaves the Senate early next year to move to Beijing, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon could become the next chairman of the Finance Committee.

 Al Jazeera and Reuters