--- description: Longtime lawmaker with in-depth knowledge of U.S. trade policy is unanimously confirmed title: Max Baucus Is New U.S. Ambassador to China image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01b2c619dd72f83f/6986822dcd804dbaa0cc95a6/max-baucus-democrat-senator-ambassador-china.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. Senate Approves Democratic Senator Max Baucus as Ambassador to China by [Michelle Arrouas](/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2014 7:02 AM CUT  U.S. Senator Max Baucus will be the new U.S. ambassador to China. U.S. Senator Max Baucus will be the new U.S. ambassador to China.Jim Bourg—Reuters by [Michelle Arrouas](/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2014 7:02 AM CUT After having spent most of his working life as a lawmaker on Capitol Hill, Democratic Senator Max Baucus will be heading to Beijing to serve as the highest ranking U.S. diplomat in China. On Thursday, the Senate unanimously confirmed his appointment. “His passion is well-known to all of us,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [said to AP](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FBAUCUS%5FCHINA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined"). “He’s an excellent choice that President Obama made to represent America’s interests in China.” Baucus, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is well-versed in U.S. trade policy and is known for his moderate views. \[[AP](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FBAUCUS%5FCHINA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5559/u-s-senate-approves-democratic-senator-max-baucus-as-ambassador-to-china/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5559/u-s-senate-approves-democratic-senator-max-baucus-as-ambassador-to-china/"},"headline":"U.S. Senate Approves Democratic Senator Max Baucus as Ambassador to China","datePublished":"2014-02-07T07:02:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:20:15.154Z","description":"Longtime lawmaker with in-depth knowledge of U.S. trade policy is unanimously confirmed","url":"https://time.com/5559/u-s-senate-approves-democratic-senator-max-baucus-as-ambassador-to-china/","keywords":["China","U.S."],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01b2c619dd72f83f/6986822dcd804dbaa0cc95a6/max-baucus-democrat-senator-ambassador-china.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Arrouas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/michelle-arrouas/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01b2c619dd72f83f/6986822dcd804dbaa0cc95a6/max-baucus-democrat-senator-ambassador-china.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Senator Baucus questions HHS Secretary Sebelius during Senate Finance Committee hearing about \"Obamacare\" on Capitol Hill in Washington","caption":"U.S. Senator Baucus questions HHS Secretary Sebelius during Senate Finance Committee hearing about \"Obamacare\" on Capitol Hill in Washington","creditText":"Jim Bourg—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5559/u-s-senate-approves-democratic-senator-max-baucus-as-ambassador-to-china/","name":"U.S. Senate Approves Democratic Senator Max Baucus as Ambassador to China"}}]}] ```