By Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday named veteran diplomat Mark Lambert as its top China policy official, at a time of tense relations over issues including Taiwan, trade and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lambert will be deputy assistant secretary for China and Taiwan, and will head the Office of China Coordination, informally known as China House. That team was created late last year to unify China policies across regions and issues.
On Aug. 29, Reuters was first to report on plans to appoint Lambert.
An Asia expert who did two stints at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, Lambert most recently served as a deputy assistant secretary focused on Japanese, Korean and Mongolian affairs, and on relations with Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
“He has deep experience working on issues related to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), forging aligned policies with our allies and partners, and protecting the integrity of the international system,” the State Department said in an embargoed statement seen by Reuters.
Lambert’s appointment is unlikely to change the tone of Washington’s China policy but should inject energy into an operation that has been criticized for adding layers of bureaucracy to an already complex decision-making process.
“He is fully onboard with the mission and the mandate of China House,” a senior State Department official told Reuters. “He’s really focused on making sure that it’s policy, paper, process and also people.”
The State Department has acknowledged some staffing problems as China House was launched and mobilized but has denied that they were related to the administration’s policy toward Beijing. It said the division was one if its highest-functioning teams.
The U.S. and China are at odds over issues from Taiwan to trade, fentanyl and human rights. Washington has sought to keep communication channels open by sending top cabinet members to Beijing over the past few months, ahead of a possible meeting later this year between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In May, Reuters reported that the State Department delayed sensitive actions toward China to try to limit damage to bilateral relations after an alleged Chinese spy balloon crossed U.S. airspace in February.
(Reporting by Humeyra PamukAdditional reporting by Michael Martina Editing by Don Durfee, Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio)
