The Australian government nominated a prominent China expert to be its ambassador to the United States as Foreign Minister Penny Wong staged an ice-breaking visit to Beijing. Rudd served as Australia’s foreign minister from 2010-2012 and is known as a scholar on China, holding an undergraduate degree in China studies and a doctorate on the Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping. Australia, together with the United Kingdom and the United States, formed a trilateral security pact in 2021 that is commonly known as AUKUS.