WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will name Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as the next U.S. ambassador to China on Wednesday, an administration official said.
The White House had announced that Obama would make a personnel announcement at 10:50 a.m. EST (1550 GMT).
Locke criticized China this year for not opening its markets.
Administration officials said earlier this week they expected Obama would announce shortly that he will nominate Locke as the next U.S. envoy to China.
Locke would be the first Chinese American to serve as Washington's envoy to Beijing and he would be the Obama administration's second appointment of a high-profile politician to the increasingly important and tricky post.
Locke will replace Jon Huntsman, who has set himself publicly against the ruling Chinese Communist Party's efforts to stamp out dissent three times in three weeks.
Huntsman steps down on April 30 and is considering a run for president in which he'd join a field of Republicans vying to challenge Obama in the 2012 election.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Alister Bull)
