Gary Locke sworn in as US ambassador to China
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China.org.cn, August 2, 2011
Former US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was sworn in Monday as the new US ambassador to China, becoming the first Chinese American to hold the post.
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke attends a hearing on his nomination to be the U.S. Ambassador to China before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, May 26, 2011. [Xinhua File Photo] |
![U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke attends a hearing on his nomination to be the U.S. Ambassador to China before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, May 26, 2011. [Xinhua File Photo]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110802/0019b91ec74f0fa1934302.jpg "U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke attends a hearing on his nomination to be the U.S. Ambassador to China before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, May 26, 2011. [Xinhua File Photo]")
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton officiated at Locke's swearing-in ceremony at the State Department.
She praised the ex-two-term governor of Washington state for his hard work on behalf of the American people and said Locke is "the right person" to manage the "extraordinarily important" relationship between the U.S. and China, Associated Press reported.
Clinton hoped that Locke would "follow through on the commitment" to a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship, made by US President Barack Obama and China's President Hu Jintao during Hu's visit to the U.S. in January, Xinhua said.
She added that Locke would also follow up on with the Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue while dealing with "many difficult issues and challenges" in bilateral relations.
Locke will succeed Jon Huntsman, the former Republican Utah governor who resigned to run against Obama for the White House in 2012.
Lock was born on January 21, 1950, into a Chinese immigrant's family. He attended Yale University and earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1972. After receiving his law degree from Boston University in 1975, he worked for several years as a deputy prosecutor in King County of Washington state. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1982, according to Xinhua.
Locke, a Democrat, was elected Washington state's 21st governor in 1996, becoming the first Chinese-American governor in the US history. He won reelection in 2000. President Obama nominated Locke as Commerce Secretary in February, 2009.
Locke and his wife, Mona Lee Locke, a former reporter for the NBC affiliate KING 5 television in Seattle, were married on Oct. 15, 1994. They have three children.
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