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U.S. President Barack Obama has named the Republican governor of Utah to be the next U.S. ambassador to China, a pivotal post in relations between the United States and a major emerging economic power.

Jon Huntsman Jr., 49, a Mandarin-speaking former U.S. trade official with deep personal and family business ties to China, takes on a delicate diplomatic role with a vital trading partner and one of the biggest sources of financing for the growing pile of U.S. government debt.

“This ambassadorship is as important as any in the world because the United States will best be able to deal effectively with the global challenges of the 21st century by working in concert with China,” Obama said at a White House ceremony with Huntsman at his side…

Huntsman quoted a Chinese aphorism as he accepted the nomination on Saturday, which he translated as, “Together we work, together we progress.”

“This more than anything else, I think, captures the spirit of our journey going forward,” he said.

A senior administration official said Huntsman was seen as a problem-solver rather than a dogmatist, and called him a “‘no drama Obama’ type” who was fluent in the language and culture and well versed in critical issues affecting the region…

Huntsman served as deputy U.S. trade representative in the Bush administration from 2001-2004, and was U.S. ambassador to Singapore from 1992 to 1994 when Bush’s father was president.

Huntsman is one more example of a traditional American conservative who is becoming a rarity in the Republican Party.