Obama's Man in China: Ambassador Jon Huntsman

Well before the Chinese welcomed Obama, his ambassador was showing them how an American politician works a crowd. And they love it.

Jon Huntsman Jr. had scarcely landed in Beijing as the new U.S. ambassador before he was imperiously summoned for a tongue-lashing. Washington was getting ready to place import duties on Chinese-made tires, and the Commerce Ministry’s senior brass wanted him to know they weren’t happy about it.

“They called me in using language in no uncertain terms,” he recalls. "They asked, ‘Why would you ever want to deploy an atom bomb in a trade dispute?’ " But the 49-year-old ambassador kept his cool. He had sat through plenty of similar histrionics from 2001 to 2004 as deputy U.S. trade representative. “You see every different style and type of theatrics in negotiations,” he says. “So you’re prepared for anything.”

But there were triumphs along with the trials in Huntsman’s first day on the job. Later that afternoon, decked out in running shoes, khakis, and a tieless shirt with rolled-up sleeves, he welcomed a crowd of nearly 70 Chinese and foreign reporters in the garden of his new residence, greeting them in excellent Mandarin. He talked in both Chinese and English about changing Sino-U.S. relations and introduced his wife and three of their seven children.

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