The nominations follow one another and are similar on the other side of the Atlantic. American President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday, December 6, his intention to appoint former Republican senator and businessman David Perdue to the post of United States ambassador to China. “He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain peace in the region and establish productive working relationships with Chinese leaders”declared the Republican on his Truth Social platform.
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Aged 74, this former senator from the state of Georgia, in the southeast of the United States, is one of the Republicans who strongly supported him during his challenge to his defeat against Joe Biden in the presidential election of 2020. During his term in the US Congress, David Perdue led a delegation to China from “US-China working group” of the Senate.
His appointment comes as Donald Trump threatened Beijing, even before taking office at the end of January, to substantially increase customs duties on goods from China. The two countries are competing in particular for global technological domination, a standoff which was particularly virulent during Donald Trump's first term.
Countering “Big Tech censorship”
The same day, Donald Trump announced that he was appointing wealthy businessman David Sacks, a close friend of multi-billionaire Elon Musk, to a new position as advisor in artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies. “I am pleased to announce that David O. Sacks will be the White House Crypto and AI Czar” (…) two essential areas for the future of American competitiveness,” declared the Republican on his Truth Social platform. This announcement comes the day after the record of $100,000 recorded by bitcoin, the most famous of cryptocurrencies, for which Donald Trump took credit.
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As advisor, David Sacks “will work on a legal framework so that the cryptocurrency industry benefits from the clarity it demands and can prosper in the United States”said Mr. Trump. After describing cryptocurrencies as a scam during his first term, the Republican radically changed his position, proclaiming during his campaign – partly financed by the sector – his intention to make the country “the world capital of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies”.
In his position, David Sacks will also be responsible for sensitive issues of “preserving freedom of expression online” and to counter the « censure de la Big Tech » what the conservatives say they are going through. It will also have to look at the crucial issue that the regulation of artificial intelligence represents for the tech sector.
Aged 52, David Sacks made his fortune thanks to the online payments company Paypal where he met Elon Musk, before creating and buying various technology companies. During the recent presidential campaign, he hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump and spoke at the Republican convention that crowned the nominee. He also became known for his show « All-In » in which he recently welcomed Republican businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and future vice-president JD Vance.
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