Bush friend favored for China post

Clark T. Randt, Jr., nicknamed Sandy, is a former classmate of George W. Bush

By CNN's Kirsty Alfredson

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Hong Kong lawyer and George W. Bush college buddy, Clark T. Randt, Jr. is expected to be the new U.S. Ambassador to China.

Randt, who has a business background, will replace Adm. Joseph Prueher, who has been praised for his negotiating during the spy plane crisis in which 24 military crewmembers were detained on Hainan Island in southern China for 11 days.

The Clinton Administration appointed Prueher in 1999 and news reports say he was interested in remaining in the post.

Clark Randt, who attended Yale University with the U.S. president, was present at President Bush's inauguration and was also his fundraising campaign chairman in Hong Kong.

Randt's nomination has not been officially announced but sources have confirmed his selection and the U.S. embassy in Hong Kong is distributing background information.

Randt speaks Mandarin, has described himself as a college drinking buddy of the president in the 1960s, and is currently a partner and lawyer with Shearman and Sterling, specializing in foreign investment.

His biography on the Shearman Sterling website says he has lived in the Asia Pacific Region for more than 20 years "having been active in transactions involving China since 1974".

He was a first secretary and commercial attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in 1982-84 and was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal.

Randt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and was awarded a traveling fellowship from the Harvard Law School. He later studied People's Republic of China law at the University of East Asia in Macau.

He has been admitted to the Bar in Hong Kong and New York.

Shearman & Sterling
U.S. Embassy - China

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.