Branstad earns praise from Senate Foreign Relations Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Gov. Terry Branstad earned high praise, and apparently a clear path to confirmation, from a Senate panel that questioned him for nearly two hours Tuesday on his nomination to be U.S. ambassador to China.

'You've had an outstanding hearing,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, told Branstad. The governor's 'on-the-ground experience with China … (and) understanding of what drives the thinking within China will serve us well.”

Referring to Branstad's nearly 23 years as a Republican governor, Corker thanked him for his 'willingness to give up a very comfortable place - apparently issues of re-election are not a problem - to go to a post that is much more temporary yet, in many ways, far more meaningful from the standpoint of our security and the world security.”

The ranking Democrat, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, offered his compliments to Branstad for a commitment to uphold human rights, open markets, 'rules-based order” in the South China Sea and press freedom.

'I must tell you the way you expressed it I believe expresses what I would hope to hear from our ambassador-to-be to China,” Cardin said.

He then asked Branstad about human rights in China, which he believes is 'moving in the wrong direction.”

Although later Branstad said that human rights wasn't always at the top of his agenda when leading international trade missions to China and other nations, he 'always tried to recognize my responsibility as an American to represent our values.

'It would be my intent as ambassador to bring up those difficult issues that the Chinese may not particularly want to talk about, but are important,” Branstad said.

The governor was flanked by his wife, Chris, and two sons, Marcus and Eric - who is a Trump administration liaison to the Commerce Department - as well as staff members.

Answering Cardin's follow-up question, Branstad said he would not only be willing to meet with Chinese who may disagree with their government, 'but to travel to other parts of the country to meet with them as well.”

Regarding religious minorities in China, Branstad noted he's a Catholic and would want to attend a Catholic church while in China.

Human rights was not the only issue senators explored with Branstad.

They returned several times to North Korea's recent military activity and Kim Jong Un's attempts to develop deliverable nuclear weapons.

'China's lack of willingness to play the role that has to be played has got to change,” Corker said, warning that without China stepping up 'something severe is going to happen in the region.”

Branstad agreed North Korea's recent action present a 'threat to all of humankind.” He expressed a belief there are things China can do through diplomacy and economic pressure 'to send a clear signal that they as well as the United States and other countries do not tolerate this expansion of nuclear technology and missiles by the North Korea leadership.”

'I would want to do all I can to serve as a key go-between as we explore how we can work together” with China and other Asian nations to contain North Korea, Branstad said.

There also was a focus on protecting intellectual property rights from China, which Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, called a 'serious offender.

Branstad noted Iowa has had some experience with that, referring to a Chinese national being convicted of attempting to steal information about seed corn from Pioneer DuPont, which is based in Delaware, a state represented on the Foreign Relations Committee by Democrat Sen. Chris Coons.

The governor said he has heard from many companies about their concerns with intellectual property theft. As the Chinese economy develops, he said, 'hopefully, they will see there is a danger to them as well of having their intellectual property stolen by other countries.”

The answers demonstrated Branstad's command of the range of hot button issues, said Susan Neely, who worked on his first gubernatorial campaign and was his chief of staff.

'That really came through today as you listened to questions and he had something to relate to all of the questions,” she said after attending the hearing.

It was easy for Branstad to make connections as senators brought up their concerns with selling chicken, pork and beef to the Chinese. He told them his preference would be to serve beef from Iowa, not Australia, at the embassy.

He was introduced by Iowa's two senators, Republicans Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, who praised who work ethic.

'He will bring Midwestern humility and levelheaded leadership to the job,” Grassley told the committee. 'He is a workhorse who is unafraid to get in the trenches to get the job done.”

Having worked with him, Ernst expressed confidence Branstad will 'exemplify the same leadership, thoughtfulness and dedication in his role as ambassador to China on behalf of the United States as he did for the people of Iowa.”

'I look forward to him being confirmed by the Senate and bringing the ‘Iowa Way' to Beijing,” she said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to recommend Branstad's confirmation next week with a vote by the full Senate before the end of the month.

Following the hearing Tuesday, Branstad and his family were headed to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump.

l Comments (319) 398-8375; James.Lynch@TheGazette.com