Senate voted 67-29 to confirm former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., to be ambassador to China, a position the former business executive assumes amid a deep strategic rivalry and blistering trade war between the two countries.
Perdue was a Republican senator from Georgia from 2015 to 2021 and previously lived in Hong Kong during a 40-year career as a business executive.
Though a critic of China and its ruling Communist Party, Perdue has faced some pushback over his business track record of supporting offshoring U.S. jobs to countries with lower labor costs, a practice Trump has railed against for hollowing out America's manufacturing base.
Last year, Perdue condemned Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "modern-day emperor," writing in an essay that Beijing wanted to "destroy capitalism and democracy" and the U.S.-led world order.
In nominating Perdue, Trump had said he would be instrumental in implementing a "productive working relationship with China's leaders." During his confirmation hearing in early April, Perdue said the U.S. approach to China must be "nuanced, nonpartisan, and strategic."