Reuters exclusively reported that before the Senate confirms the nomination of David Perdue, the US ambassador to China, the State Department appointed Anny Vu, director of the political section of the American Institute in Taipei (AIT), as acting ambassador to oversee the 1,300 staff members of the embassy in Beijing and other consular staff in China.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters late Thursday (March 13) that Wu Anni will serve as the acting ambassador of the U.S. Embassy in China. She will lead the Chinese mission until the ambassador approved by the Senate arrives.
According to her resume on the AIT official website, before becoming the head of the AIT Political Department, Wu Anni held a senior position in the Office of China Coordination of the U.S. State Department in Washington.
Wu served in various roles on the National Security Council during the first Donald Trump administration and the Joe Biden administration, including as director for China affairs.
In 2021, Wu Anni was awarded the “Constructive Dissent” award by the American Foreign Service Association for her work in countering Chinese influence at the United Nations. According to the website of the American Foreign Service Association, she actively lobbied to support other candidates to counter China’s nominees during the elections for the heads of two UN agencies.
Wu Anni’s resume page has been removed from AIT’s official website; AIT did not respond to requests for comment before press time.
Since former U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns stepped down with Biden in January this year, senior State Department diplomat Sarah Beran has temporarily taken over the duties.
U.S. Senate lawmakers can decide to expedite ambassadorial nominations, a process that is sometimes delayed for political reasons. No date has been set for Perdue’s confirmation hearing.
Trump announced in December last year that Perdue, a former federal senator, would serve as the U.S. ambassador to China. Perdue, from Georgia, served as a federal senator from 2015 to 2021 and is the only Republican who has served on both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prior to this, Perdue worked as a corporate executive for 40 years and lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for a long time.
Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth.com: “With a 40-year international business career as a Fortune 500 CEO and a previous service in the U.S. Senate, David brings valuable expertise to help us build our relationship with China. He will play an important role in implementing my strategy to maintain peace in the region and building a productive working relationship with China’s leaders.”