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US ambassador settles into new home

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-24 12:48

Jon Huntsman plans to meet President Hu Jintao this week, as the new United States ambassador to China and his family settle into their new Beijing residence.

Huntsman said in Beijing on Saturday that US President Barack Obama will make his first visit to China in mid-November. However, he gave no specific dates for the trip.

The 49-year-old Republican and former governor of Utah said he plans to spend the next few weeks meeting key Chinese government officials, as well as business and community leaders.

The ambassador defined his top priority here as "helping lay the foundation for sustainable growth in the region and the global economy".

Among other items on the agenda are climate change, energy, the environment and security issues like the situations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, he said.

Huntsman arrived in Beijing with his wife and three of his seven children, including an adopted daughter from Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, late Friday.

Gracie Mei, 9, told China Daily it is the first time for her to come back and she is very excited. She will attend a local school.

Huntsman's youngest girl, 3-year-old Asha Bharati, accompanied his father throughout the speech and frequently disrupted him by knocking the microphone. Huntsman's wife said the girl, adopted in India, was excited to come to Beijing and enjoyed spicy Sichuan food very much.

"There has been a famous saying in Chinese for 2,000 years since the Han Dynasty that when the family is happy then all is well under heaven," Huntsman said.

"My family is very happy to come here to serve on behalf of the US government."

Huntsman served as governor of Utah from 2005 until his resignation on Aug 11 for the new task as ambassador to China.

Both political and academic circles in the US and China view Huntsman as an ideal choice for the position, given his rich experience in Asia, his knowledge in the fields of diplomacy and clean energy fields, as well as the fact he speaks fluent Mandarin.

Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op'Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily's Website opinion section.

He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.