Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society, speaking on the sidelines of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on November 15, 2022.
Ore Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has been appointed Australia’s ambassador to the United States at a time when the two countries are expanding defense cooperation in response to China’s rise.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Rudd one of the world’s most scrutinized Chinese diplomats and said he would bring experience to the role at a time when the region is being reshaped by strategic competition. .
“Kevin Rudd is a fantastic appointment,” Albanese said at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s visit to China.
“He brings a lot of credit to Australia by agreeing to take on this position as a former prime minister, a former foreign minister.”
Rudd, who speaks fluent Mandarin, has written and spoken widely on foreign relations with China since leaving politics in 2013. He completed a doctorate at Oxford in worldview the president of China, Xi Jinping, in September and heads the international relations organization the Asia Society in New York.
His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Albanese said Rudd’s appointment, which followed the appointment in September of former foreign minister Stephen Smith to the British embassy, reflected the importance of the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement and the United States and Great Britain.
“It is not by chance that we are participating in AUKUS and those decisions require a lot of professional organization but also of course an understanding of the politics that exists,” said Albanese . On the same subject : Semiconductor Policy.
Rudd will take up his post in early 2023.
