Prof likely to be US envoy in Beijing

Tsinghua University professor and former Goldman Sachs president John Thornton is a likely candidate for the US ambassadorship to Beijing, a US political newspaper reported recently.

The speculation emerged as a key question surrounding US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's upcoming China trip remained unanswered: Who will be the new US ambassador to arrange Clinton's three-day visit to Beijing from Friday?

Conventionally, the US ambassador should be designated before the visit to accompany the top US diplomat.