Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has sworn in former Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as U.S. ambassador to China, the first Chinese American to hold the post in American history.

“It is an exciting and proud day for this administration to be sending Gary and his wonderful family to China,” Clinton said. Stressing the United States’ “extraordinarily important” relationship with China, the secretary expressed confidence that Locke will follow through on commitments made by President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao to create a more “positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship.”

“We are two complex, large nations with different histories and different political systems, but we know the importance of getting to know one another better, working together and solving problems together,” Clinton said.

She praised Locke as “an extraordinarily hard worker” with a “history of distinction in his many public service responsibilities.” The envoy will formally become ambassador after presenting his credentials in Beijing.

Locke was nominated by President Obama March 9 in a White House ceremony, and was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate July 27.

“Our relationship with China is one of the most critical of the 21st century,” Obama said during Locke’s nomination. “Continued cooperation between our countries will be good for America, it will be good for China, and it will be good for the world.”

Obama said that as the grandson of a Chinese immigrant who went on to live the American dream, Locke is “the right person to continue this cooperation.”

Locke’s grandfather left China more than 100 years ago aboard a steamship bound for the United States, where he worked as a domestic servant for a family in Washington state in return for the opportunity to learn English.

“A century later, his grandson will return to China as America’s top diplomat,” Obama said.

Locke was also the first Chinese-American governor when he was elected in Washington state in 1996, and he worked as governor to attract jobs and business to his state. Locke joined the Obama administration in 2009 to be the president’s chief advocate for America’s businesses, specifically its exports abroad. Obama said that, as part of that assignment, he asked Locke to continue to make progress on the U.S.-China bilateral relationship.

During the past two years, Locke has overseen an increase in American exports — particularly exports to China, a country with which the United States recently signed trade deals that will support 235,000 American jobs. Locke was also the president’s lead official for his National Export Initiative, which is designed to make the United States more competitive globally in trade and double U.S. exports of goods and services over five years. In 2010, the United States increased exports to China by 34 percent.

Locke succeeds Ambassador Jon Huntsman, the former Republican governor of Utah, who recently asked to step down.

The United States and China are working to improve nation-to-nation relations through regular visits and consultations on bilateral, regional and global political, economic and security issues. Locke said the two countries have a “profoundly important and complex diplomatic, economic and strategic bilateral relationship,” and that while challenges exist, there also is “great promise for extended cooperation and collaboration.”

He pledged to “keep the lines of communication open, to convey the administration’s positions clearly and to engage with Chinese government officials at the highest levels” and said that he hoped to also communicate directly with the Chinese people “to improve understanding between our great nations.”

Locke said he will also continue joint efforts with China to curb climate change, seek cleaner sources of energy and stop nuclear proliferation, as well to enhance economic ties.

“As a child of Chinese immigrants growing up in the state of Washington, having the opportunity to represent America, the land of my birth, and to represent American values was surely beyond any dream I could have had,” Locke said. “It is America, and America’s promise as a land of freedom, equality and opportunity, that I will represent when serving the president and the American people as the United States ambassador to China.”

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