⁍ The move is likely to anger China amid increasingly tense relations between Washington and Beijing.

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⁍ China has consistently refused to deal with the U.S. coordinator, seeing it as interference in its internal affairs.

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⁍ The appointment comes at a time when U.S.-China relations have sunk to the lowest point in decades over a range of issues.

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– The Trump administration has named a new special coordinator for Tibetan issues, a move likely to anger China amid increasingly tense relations between Washington and Beijing, Reuters reports. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Robert Destro, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, would assume the additional post, which has been vacant since the start of President Trump’s term in 2017. Destro “will lead US efforts to promote dialogue between the People’s Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives; protect the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic identity of Tibetans; and press for their human rights to be respected,” Pompeo said in a statement. China has consistently refused to deal with the US coordinator, seeing it as interference in its internal affairs. The appointment comes at a time when US-China relations have sunk to the lowest point in decades over a range of issues, including trade, Taiwan, human rights, the South China Sea, and the coronavirus.