Future Ambassador to China: 'I'm No Real Expert on China'

At his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Obama’s nominee for US Ambassador to China admitted, “I’m no real expert on China.” The answer came in response to a question from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). Points to Baucus for honesty, I guess. 

There is probably no other diplomatic post more critical than the US representative in the People’s Republic. Worries about North Korea’s nuclear program cast a worrisome shadow over the Pacific region. There has also been rising tension between China and Japan, ostensibly over control of a chain of islands in the South China sea. 

Navigating these rocks will be difficult and require a deft diplomatic hand. Yet, Obama has nominated someone who admits they aren’t an expert on China.

As Glenn Reynolds says, the country is in the very best of hands.