Special coordinator for Tibetan issues says he seeks to advance US efforts to ‘preserve Tibetans’ precious heritage’
The appointment is set against US President Donald Trump’s cuts to foreign aid and global advocacy, as well as a strategic detente with Beijing.
On February 17, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Riley Barnes, the assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labour, would assume the role of US special coordinator for Tibetan issues, a role mandated by Washington’s Tibetan Policy Act.
The announcement coincided with Losar, the Tibetan New Year.
Barnes’ appointment comes at a sensitive time, just weeks before Trump’s planned trip to China to meet President Xi Jinping in April.
