As US names official for Tibet policy, is it eyeing China, its minority groups or trade?

South China Morning Post · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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The United States has appointed a new official to oversee its policy on Tibet, a move analysts say signals Washington’s interest in playing up the issue while dealing with Beijing.The appointment is set against US President Donald Trump’s cuts to foreign aid and global advocacy, as well as a strategic detente with Beijing.On February 17, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Riley Barnes, the assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labour, would assume the role of US special coordinator for Tibetan issues, a role mandated by Washington’s Tibetan Policy Act.The announcement coincided with Losar, the Tibetan New Year.Coming one year into Trump’s second term, the appointment contrasts sharply with his first tenure – when Robert Destro was named to the role only in October 2020, with just three months to go before Trump left office.Barnes’ appointment comes at a sensitive time, just weeks before Trump’s planned trip to China to meet President Xi Jinping in April.Observers tend to view Trump as relatively indifferent to China’s ethnic minority issues, showing little appetite for ideological confrontation with Beijing. This is particularly so during his second term, which has been marked by escalating trade and technology conflicts.

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