China hails new US ambassador`s `positive role`

Beijing: China welcomed on Tuesday the US Senate`s confirmation of Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as US ambassador to Beijing, praising his "positive role" in Sino-US relations.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying expressed hope that Branstad will help the relationship "develop in a sound and steady way" after assuming his post.

"For a long time, Mr. Branstad has been playing a positive role in promoting bilateral exchanges and friendship," Hua said during a regular press briefing on Tuesday.

The longest-serving governor in US history, the 70-year-old Branstad has known Chinese President Xi Jinping since the mid-1980s, when the Asian leader visited Iowa as a provincial official.

His confirmation, by a bipartisan vote of 82 to 13, comes as US President Donald Trump is looking to Beijing, its biggest rival and trading partner, to step up economic pressure on North Korea`s irascible regime.

Trump repeatedly attacked China`s trade policies during last year`s presidential election.

But his aggressive tone has softened since his inauguration, including doing an about-face after months of branding China a currency manipulator.