The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as ambassador to China, making him the first Chinese-American to take the post, Xinhua reported.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke attends a hearing on his nomination to be the U.S. Ambassador to China before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, May 26, 2011. [Xinhua File Photo]

Locke, 61, won unanimous confirmation in the Senate voice vote. He succeeds Jon Huntsman, a Republican who has resigned to run for the?2012 presidential election.

 

U.S. President Barack Obama?nominated Locke?as the ambassador to China?on March 9, saying that no one is better qualified for the diplomatic post than Locke.

At a May 26 Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on his nomination, Locke said that "it is a sign of the importance of the bilateral relationship between our two great nations that the president has nominated a current member of his cabinet to serve in this new capacity."

He also expressed his thanks for Obama's support and trust in him.??

"If confirmed by the Senate, I pledge to help build the positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship that Presidents Obama and Hu have agreed that our two nations should aspire to," Locke told the committee.

He said he?would help U. S. companies do more business in China and increase exports to China.

"I will also work to expand bilateral cooperation on a host of critical international issues, from stopping nuclear proliferation to rebalancing the global economy to combating climate change," said Lock.??

Born into an immigrant family on Jan. 21, 1950, Locke spent his first six years in Seattle's Yesler Terrace, a public housing project for families of World War II veterans. He worked in his father's grocery store, became an Eagle Scout and graduated with honors from Seattle's Franklin High School in 1968. Through a combination of part-time jobs, financial aid and scholarships, Locke attended Yale University, earning a bachelor's degree in political science in 1972.

After receiving his law degree from Boston University in 1975, Locke worked for several years as a deputy prosecutor in King County of Washington state, prosecuting felony crimes. In 1982, he was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives, where he served on the Judiciary and Appropriations committees, with his final five years spent as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Locke, a Democrat, was elected Washington state's 21st governor on Nov. 5, 1996, becoming the first Chinese-American governor in U. S. history. He won reelection on Nov. 7, 2000.

Obama nominated Locke as commerce secretary in February, 2009, and Locke was sworn in on May 1 the same year.

Locke and his wife, Mona Lee Locke, a former reporter for the NBC affiliate KING 5 television in Seattle, were married on Oct. 15, 1994. They have three children.