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WASHINGTON – The U.S. ambassador who caused a sensation in Vietnam by making a rap video is getting a promotion as the top diplomat for Asia under President Joe Biden.
Daniel Kritenbrink, a Chinese and Japanese-speaking career diplomat, was nominated by Biden as undersecretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, according to a White House statement.
Kritenbrink became an internet sensation last month during Tet, the Lunar New Year which is Vietnam’s biggest annual celebration, as he posted his own rap video to send his regards.
In a performance that combined canny diplomatic messages and a healthy touch of irony, Kritenbrink appeared strolling the streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in his suit and headphones accompanied by Vietnamese music stars.
“Hello, my name is Dan / I’m from Nebraska / I’m not a kid from a big city / Then three years ago I moved to Hanoi,” he began in a video seen hundreds of thousands of times that also included lines in Vietnamese. .
Despite his sense of humor, Kritenbrink has a serious background, previously serving as number two at the US embassy in Beijing and as the White House’s top adviser on Asian politics under former President Barack Obama.
Kritenbrink’s nomination, which requires Senate confirmation, comes at a time when tensions are mounting between the United States and China on issues ranging from human rights to trade to Beijing’s energetic military movements.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan last week held a first irritable meeting in Alaska with senior Chinese officials, who openly denounced the US lobbying efforts. – French Media Agency
