Baucus tipped as US envoy to China The White House is expected to nominate Max Baucus, the retiring long-time senator from Montana, to be the next US ambassador to China, according to sources familiar with the matter. The surprise appointment of Mr Baucus, who would replace Gary Locke as ambassador in Beijing, comes at a time when tensions between the US and China appear to be rising over military issues in Asia. Mr Baucus, 72, has already said that he will not run for re-election in 2014, and if his appointment takes place before November, he would have to give up his powerful position as chairman of the Senate finance committee. He would need to be confirmed by his fellow senators for the position. Although not an expert on Asia, Mr Baucus does have long experience dealing with issues related to China from his nearly four decades in Congress. He is a member and used to be chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a government agency which has a strong focus on human rights issues and has often been sharply critical of Beijing. The slowly escalating military rivalry between the US and China has been brought into sharper focus in recent weeks by Beijing's controversial announcement of an air defence zone in November and a near confrontation on December 5 between a Chinese warship and a US one in the South China Sea. While the role of US ambassador to China is high-profile, the person occupying the post does not play a decisive role in formulating US policy towards China. In announcing his resignation, Mr Locke singled out the reduction of visa waiting times for Chinese traveling to the US as one of his most important achievements during his two and a half years in the job. But as Washington's eyes and ears on the ground in Beijing, it helps to have an ambassador who is familiar with the opaque Chinese Communist party and can pick up on subtle changes in policy or position, diplomats say. As well as being critical of China's human rights record, Mr Baucus has also been vocal in the past on Beijing's manipulation of its currency, an issue that has fallen down Washington's agenda as the value of the RMB has risen in recent years. "He has a complicated attitude towards China - he was a very early supporter of granting China most favoured nation trading status but he was also one of several senators who raised pressure on China over currency manipulation," said Diao Daming, assistant researcher at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. We need to be cautious and keep a watchful eye on him. He is a seasoned politician and will probably keep a low profile or at least not be as actively engaged in certain topics as Gary Locke was. Mr Baucus has had his share of scandals, including suggestions from conservatives that he participated in at least one debate in the senate while intoxicated. But Chinese academics who study the US say they think it will be easy for him to secure Congressional approval for the job of Ambassador. The Obama administration has been criticised for sending inexperienced envoys to deeply sensitive diplomatic posts, a point that was often levelled at the appointment of Caroline Kennedy to be ambassador in Japan. However, there is a long history of congressional heavyweights taking leading positions in Asia, including former speaker Tom Foley and former senate majority leader Howard Baker as ambassadors in Tokyo, and Jim Sasser, a three-term senator who became ambassador to China. The appointment may also have been partly driven by domestic political considerations, as any replacement for Mr Baucus in Montana will be appointed by that state's Democratic governor. With the Democrats struggling to protect their majority in the chamber in the 2014 midterm congressional elections, his Democratic replacement could have time to lift their profile in a seat which had been considered vulnerable to the Republicans. Mr Baucus has long focused in the Senate on trade liberalisation, as head of the chamber's finance committee, and has travelled to China often.