U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has officially tapped former senior State Department official Kurt Campbell for the post of White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, the incoming administration's website about the transition showed.
The new position in the National Security Council will reportedly give the veteran diplomat, who takes a tough stance against China, a broad scope to manage the NSC directorates that cover various parts of Asia and China-related issues.
Campbell was assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs under the administration of former Democratic President Barack Obama, during which Biden served as vice president.
He is also well-versed in Japan and known as an architect of the Asia-Pacific "pivot" or "rebalancing" strategy pursued by Obama, a phrase used to signal a focus on the region amid China's rise.
An article written by Campbell and a China expert which was published in Foreign Affairs magazine earlier this week denounced Republican President Donald Trump for undermining U.S. alliances, such as with Japan and South Korea, through his transactional approach and called for working with allies to deter China's assertiveness.
They said the United States should be flexible in building its partnerships, such as by pursuing "ad hoc" bodies to work on individual problems including trade and technology. On coalition-building focused on military deterrence, they touched on expanding the Quad, currently composed of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
According to the transition team website, Laura Rosenberger, also a former State Department official, will serve as senior director for China in the NSC. She was NSC director for China and Korea under the Obama administration.
