US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday his intent to nominate Iowa's longest-serving governor Terry Branstad to be his administration's ambassador to China, an appointment well received in both China and the United States.

Though speaking no Chinese, Branstad is well-known for his long-standing friendship with China and in particular with President Xi Jinping. The two first met in 1985 during Xi's first trip to the US with an agriculture delegation from North China's Hebei province. Branstad was in his first term as governor.

Branstad invited Xi, then China's vice-president, back to Iowa in 2012. Over the years, Branstad has led four trade missions to China and made China one of the top trade partners of Iowa, a major agriculture producer of soybeans, corn and pork.