U.S. Senate panel approves Trump's nominee for ambassador to China

Iowa GovernorTerry Branstad(Front) testifies before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a hearing considering him to be U.S. Ambassador to China on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 2, 2017.(Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday easily approved Iowa Governor Terry Branstad to be the next U.S. ambassador to China.

To be confirmed, Branstad needs to be approved by the full Senate, which hasn't yet scheduled the vote.

Branstad, 70, is the longest-serving governor in the United States, who also has nurtured a close relationship with China and has visited China multiple times.

He served as the governor of Iowa in 1983-1999, and again since 2011. He was nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump to be the next U.S. ambassador to China in December 2016.

During his confirmation hearing last week, Branstad said, if confirmed, he would work to "positively influence" the U.S.-China relationship.

"As Governor of Iowa, I saw first-hand the importance of a positive and healthy trade relationship between our two countries," Branstad said, adding that he hoped to work towards the goal of positively influencing the U.S.-China relationship.

Calling U.S.-China relationship "multi-faceted," Branstad also noted that the two countries must work together on major security issues, including the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and cybersecurity.