WASHINGTON: US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is just a step away from being the first Chinese-American to serve as ambassador to China after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to approve his nomination.

If he gets approval at a full Senate vote, he will be confirmed as the envoy to the country where his parents were born.

According to the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid office, the Senate vote has not been scheduled yet.

Thanks to his Chinese ancestry and outstanding work to promote China-US trade, the 61-year-old Locke was nominated by President Barack Obama in March after Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman quit to run for the 2012 Presidential election as a Republican candidate.

This nomination gained not only applause from US business community but support from the Congress.

Locke waltzed through his confirmation hearing earlier this month, vowing to promote the commercial relationship with China and get more engaged with Chinese people.

Not a Chinese speaker, Locke is now polishing his language skills while waiting for the confirmation in order to better communicate with the Chinese public.

Before becoming commerce secretary in 2009, he served as governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005 and successfully doubled the state's export to China.