Where will Biden's first China trade representative lead the US trade policy?

According to Xinhua News Agency 12 and 10, US President-elect Biden announced on the same day that he would nominate a number of candidates for the next high-level government positions, including Qi Dai, a Chinese female lawyer, as the US Trade Representative. Once the nomination is approved by the Senate, Qi Dai will become the first China woman to serve as the US Trade Representative.

The U.S. Trade Representative is a key position in the government, responsible for implementing the U.S. trade rules and negotiating trade terms with other countries. Since the current President Trump took office, the importance of this position has been further enhanced. Why did you nominate Qi Dai for this core position? Where will Biden's trade policy go in the future?

Fluent in Chinese and rich in trade experience.

Qi Dai, 45, was born in Connecticut and grew up in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Yale University and Harvard University, the top universities in the United States. As Qi Dai's parents are from Taiwan Province Province, China, she can also speak fluent Mandarin. Previously, Dai Qi studied at Sidwell Friendship School in Washington, DC. This private high school has trained several generations of American elites and their children, including the daughter of former President Clinton, the daughter of former President Obama and Biden's grandson.

1996- 1998, as a graduate of Yale university, Qi Dai participated in the English teaching project initiated by Yale-China Association and went to Guangzhou to teach English courses to students majoring in economics and computer science in Lingnan College of Sun Yat-sen University. In addition, Qi Dai, who majored in history at university, also designed her own courses and taught immigrant writing at China Language and Culture School in Washington during the summer vacation.

In his early years, Qi Dai worked in the trade offices of several law firms in Washington. From 2007 to 20 14, Qi Dai served as the senior lawyer in charge of China affairs in the Office of the US Trade Representative. 20 14 joined the Ways and Means Committee of the US House of Representatives as a trade adviser, and 20 17 was appointed as the chief trade adviser of the Committee.

As the chief trade adviser of the House Ways and Means Committee, Qi Dai played a key role in discussing the US-Mexico Agreement with the Trump administration trade team last year. She added tougher labor-related terms in the negotiations, which left a deep impression on members of both parties. According to the Wall Street Journal, many American trade experts and trade union representatives believe that the agreement sets a template for the formulation of future trade agreements. The New York Times also quoted several members of Congress as saying that Qi Dai played an important role in reconciling differences between politicians and interest groups during the negotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada agreement.

Qi Dai gave a speech to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Members of Congress recognized as "problem solvers".

From the perspective of American political tradition, people with congressional background usually play some auxiliary roles in the office of the US Trade Representative, and few people can be directly nominated as the US Trade Representative. This shows that Biden's nomination of Dai Qi is unusual.

Wu Qisheng, an associate researcher at the Institute of International Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn), "The position of US trade representative is very important, which involves the implementation of US trade rules and international trade negotiations.

In addition to his highly compatible professional background, Qi Dai was widely praised by members of Congress for his outstanding performance in the negotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada agreement. Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, said: "Qi Dai is the most qualified candidate for US Trade Representative." Brown said, "Qi Dai played a key role in the negotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada agreement last year to effectively improve the labor situation. She also has the unique advantage of dealing with China and knows how to cooperate with allies to realize the interests of the United States. "

The US political news website Politics quoted a congressional staff member as saying that moderate Democrats, some Republicans and even business leaders and trade unions supported Qi Dai as the US Trade Representative. "Almost everyone appreciates Qi Dai. Even if they don't necessarily agree with her, they still think it is reasonable for her to be a trade representative. " The staff member said.

Associated Press analysis pointed out that Qi Dai is a pragmatic "problem solver" in formulating trade policies, and she can bridge the ideological differences between free traders and protectionists. In this regard, Wu Qisheng also pointed out that the US Trade Representative is the connection point between Congress and the President on trade issues, and it is necessary to coordinate the positions of the White House and Congress, and Qi Dai's work experience in this area has been recognized by many members.

In the joint letter165438+1October 24th to Biden, Zhao Meixin, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Group of the US House of Representatives, and nine other female members praised Qi Dai for her "rich experience and good diplomacy" and thought that she was "very suitable" to handle the US-Mexico-Canada trade relations. It is worth noting that members of the Asia-Pacific Group have previously criticized Biden for the lack of Asian faces in the high-level positions nominated by Biden. In addition, Democratic Senator Wyden urged the Senate and Republicans to approve Qi Dai's nomination.

What is the position of international trade policy?

Since the establishment of 1960, the office of the US Trade Representative has gradually assumed the responsibility of leading the international trade negotiations in the United States. Since Trump took office, the importance of the post of Trade Representative has been further enhanced.

The New York Times said that after Qi Dai took office, whether to continue to grant tariff exemptions to some companies and improve trade relations with Europe, Canada, Japan and Mexico is also a top priority. In addition, the new trade representative should also adapt to the Democratic Party's priorities, such as increasing protection for workers and mitigating the impact of climate change.

"Qi Dai is low-key but tough," Goodman said. Biden chose her instead of a more political figure. It can be seen that Biden's trade policy is more active than observers expected. "

As for Qi Dai, it remains to be seen how much influence she can exert on China's economic and trade policies in the face of "establishment" politicians such as Biden's nominated Secretary of State Blinken and national security adviser Sullivan.

Proofreading: Zhang Yan