Expert tapped for top Asia post

The White House's nomination of Susan Thornton as top US diplomat for East Asia will act as a positive signal in China-US relations, which face a variety of uncertainties, experts say.

"Thornton is very familiar with China, and I think she understands very well about the complexity of China-US relations. This may help the US to be more rational in the diplomatic policymaking process, especially regarding China," said Yuan Zheng, director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The White House announced on Tuesday that President Donald Trump had nominated Thornton, a career foreign service member, as top US diplomat for East Asia.