Jon Huntsman Praised By China Vice Premier

BEIJING — China's expected future leader praised outgoing U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman on Thursday amid talk of the former Utah governor launching a presidential run.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping called Huntsman "an old friend of the Chinese people" who had made "unremitting efforts to promote the exchanges between our two people.

"Let me express out appreciation for your contributions. We will never forget what you have done," said Xi, who is expected to begin taking over from President Hu Jintao next year.

Xi's comments came during a meeting in Beijing with an unusually large delegation of 10 U.S. senators led by Majority Leader Harry Reid, which Huntsman also attended. The delegation is in China for talks with Chinese officials on topics from clean energy to human rights.

Xi said the presence of Reid's high-powered delegation "fully demonstrates how much importance the U.S. Senate attaches to growing U.S.-China relations."

Huntsman, 50, officially leaves his Beijing post on April 30 and is due to visit the state of New Hampshire just weeks later, further suggesting he is weighing a White House bid.

A fluent Mandarin speaker from his time as a Mormon missionary, Huntsman has won praise from the administration for his work as ambassador. But White House aides have been less than enthused by his interest in exploring a Republican presidential bid next year.

Having served a Democratic president could limit Huntsman's support by conservatives who influence the Republican nomination process.

Huntsman surprised many strategists when he accepted the post in China, considered one of the United States' top diplomatic assignments.

Comments

[Danish Lass]

07:01 PM on 05/17/2011

Oh YAY, so if the Chinese endorse him, it's gotta be good?

[deepfreezevideo]

10:15 AM on 04/22/2011

"Let me express out appreciation for your contributions. We will never forget what you have done," said Xi

---UNAUTHORIZED TRANSLATION:
John Huntsman, the latest in a string of US officials who have sold off the last remaining vestiges of American manufacturing to the Chinese.

(Yeah, of course they'll never forget what he did - - question is, will we?)

[margaritamayhem]

10:03 AM on 04/22/2011

If the Chinese GOVERNMENT likes him it's not because of his humanitarian contributions.

[Jeff Forsythe]

09:35 AM on 04/22/2011

The Chinese Communist Party practices slavery, torture and even organ harvesting on its own people and the World's Governments still continue to do business with them because of corporate greed.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday, Mar.16, 2010, urging the Chinese Communist Party to end its decade-long campaign against Falun Gong and expressing solidarity with victims of persecution in China.

House Resolution 605 recognizes, “the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China on the 11th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party campaign to suppress the Falun Gong spiritual movement and calling for an immediate end to the campaign to persecute, intimidate, imprison, and torture Falun Gong practitioners.” “The Falun Gong spiritual discipline is based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance,” said Ros-Lehtinen. “Yet these innocents are brutally targeted by the Chinese regime. The stark reality which this resolution addresses gives new meaning to the phrase 'Butchers of Beijing.

Thank you for your consideration.

[totaldisbelief]

09:33 AM on 04/22/2011

so ..at some point China will get to help pick a US President.

[deepfreezevideo]

10:16 AM on 04/22/2011

BINGO.

[altohone]

07:54 AM on 04/22/2011

Praise from the currency manipulators helping the GOP kill off our jobs is high praise indeed.
New Hampshire will love his facilitation of offshoring and massive borrowing, and his stance that the treasuries owned by China should be honored but the treasuries in the Social Security Trust should not be honored is so patriotic.

[rbenjamin]

07:31 AM on 04/22/2011

A Made in China label is probably not going to help Huntsman's presidential prospects.

[mamapower]

03:07 AM on 04/22/2011

A republican COMMUNIST!

[margaritamayhem]

10:01 AM on 04/22/2011

Hard to believe, isn't it.

[Dangerous Dan]

02:27 AM on 04/22/2011

He will make a great transitional territorial governor.

[Dangerous Dan]

01:52 AM on 04/22/2011

I can see the crossover voting for him in 2012 primaries.
Dems nominate another Repub candidate.

[Dangerous Dan]

01:42 AM on 04/22/2011

Here come the crossover primary voters.
McCain II nomination.

[iceburg]

11:43 PM on 04/21/2011

This guy is indeed a friend of the Communist regime. Vote for him? I don't think so.

[Puzzlr]

11:25 PM on 04/21/2011

Sorry HuffPo, but what else is supposed to say? I hated this guy? Sheesh

[Hank007]

10:14 PM on 04/21/2011

Strike one: Mormon
Strike two: Friend of China
Strike three: Worked for Obama

He's out!

[aFtersootdamP]

09:52 PM on 04/21/2011

Another distorted headline by huffp0. I wonder when the responsible journalists will show up?

[mamapower]

03:08 AM on 04/22/2011

Ask that to fox snooze!

[Chris Morrison]

06:41 AM on 04/22/2011

I'm not sure how distorted it is. "Jon Huntsman Praised By China Vice Premier" followed by an article in which Jon Huntsman is praised by a Chinese vice premier seems pretty spot-on.