Thomas O'Ban

President Obama announced today that Commerce secretary and former Washington state governor Gary Locke--a third generation Chinese-American--will replace possible presidential candidate Jon Huntsman in April as the U.S. ambassador to China. The Associated Press reports:

Hoping to make China more friendly to American business, President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated as his top envoy to Beijing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the first Chinese-American to serve in that diplomatically and commercially important assignment.

Locke is well-versed in the Chinese trade policies that have frustrated American businesses trying to sell their products in the huge and growing Asian power. He's led delegations of U.S. companies on dozens of trade missions abroad, including to China, where U.S. exports were up 34 percent last year.

Thomas O'Ban is an intern at THE WEEKLY STANDARD.