DES MOINES — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has been tapped to serve as ambassador to China in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, a spokesman confirmed Wednesday.
The offer, announced during a fundraiser Wednesday morning, highlights Branstad’s decades-long “friendship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and years-long efforts to build strong economic and trade ties between the state of Iowa and the world’s most populous nation.
Branstad has accepted the offer, Trump spokesman Jason Miller said. A statement officially announcing the appointment is expected later Wednesday.
"Gov. Branstad obviously as Iowa’s long-serving governor is someone who has considerable public-policy experience but also someone who has a lot of experience and great grasp of trade issues, agriculture issues, has a tremendous understanding of China and Chinese people," Miller told reporters in a conference call on Wednesday. "He’s someone who very much impressed the president-elect not just during their meetings on the campaign trail but also in their meetings after the election. It’s very clear that Gov. Branstad is someone who will represent our country well on the world stage."
Picking Branstad has been rumored for weeks since Trump was elected Nov. 8, and in recent days the governor did little to hide his enthusiasm at the prospect of the appointment.
Trump and Branstad met Tuesday afternoon at Trump Tower in New York.
Branstad, a Republican, must be confirmed for the post by the U.S. Senate sometime after Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Beyond its effect on the nascent Trump administration and its implications for the president-elect’s foreign policy, Branstad’s possible appointment represents a momentous change in the Iowa political landscape.
Branstad, 70, is the longest-serving governor in American history, having served four terms in the office from 1983 to 1999 and another term and a half since 2011. He is the unquestioned leader of the Republican Party in Iowa, and widely credited with driving its electoral successes since 2010.
If he resigns to take the ambassadorship, Branstad would be succeeded by Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Reynolds, 57, has served alongside Branstad since he returned to office in 2011, playing a conspicuous public role in the administration and, according to the governor and his staff, working closely on policymaking, appointments and other key gubernatorial responsibilities.
She is a former state senator and county treasurer from Osceola, in southern Iowa.
Reynolds is on a family vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, this week, and was not immediately available for comment.
Branstad has history with China. The governor first met Xi in 1985, when he was a first-term governor and Xi was a Communist Party official from China’s Hebei Province visiting Iowa to learn about agricultural techniques. The pair rekindled their friendship in 2011, when Branstad met with Xi during a trade mission to China and invited him back to the state.
Xi, then the vice president of China, accepted Branstad’s offer in 2012, attending a state dinner at the Iowa Capitol, visiting “old friends” from his initial visit and touring a massive farming operation. He became the president of China less than a year later.
Branstad has led four trade missions to China since returning to office in 2011, including a trip to Beijing and Hebei just last month. Most of the trips were aimed at boosting Iowa’s agricultural exports to China, a world-leading consumer of soy and pork.
The frequent visits and relationship with Xi mean the Chinese know and like Branstad, said Tim Albrecht, a former aide to the governor.
“He’s a known commodity (in China), more so probably than any other political leader save for (President) Obama,” said Albrecht. “There’s not just a respect there, there’s a kinship that’s hard to describe.”
The timing of the ambassadorial appointment and confirmation process could keep Branstad in office for at least the beginning of the upcoming Iowa legislative session, which begins Jan. 9. That could potentially allow him to deliver the budget proposal and Condition of the State Address in early January that outline the administration’s priorities for the coming year.
Reynolds, then, would probably take office once the 2017 legislative session is underway.
Reynolds will hold the governor’s office until Branstad’s term ends in early 2019. Even before the ambassadorship arose, she had expressed interest in running for governor on her own in 2018, should Branstad opt not to seek another term.
Entering the 2018 race as the incumbent would give Reynolds a substantial advantage in what previously was expected to be a wide-open and competitive Republican primary, several Iowa political observers said.
Follow Jason Noble on Twitter: @jasonnobleDMR
