Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) is reportedly favored to become the next ambassador to China in Donald Trump Donald John TrumpREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails Trump urges North Korea to denuclearize ahead of summit Venezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump MORE's administration.

Three sources with the knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg that a final decision could be made following a meeting between Branstad and the members of the Trump transition team in the coming week.

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According to the report, the Iowa governor was scheduled to be in New York for a trip related to his state's economic growth. Branstad's meeting with the Trump team will likely be aded to his schedule, Trump and Branstad advisors told Bloomberg.

The meeting will take place in the wake of a historic phone conversation between the president-elect and Taiwan's leader on Friday.

The conversation broke decades of U.S. precedent, potentially inflaming U.S.-China relations a month before Trump takes office.

Branstad's core appeal may be his long-standing friendship with the Chinese President Xi Jinping that spans back decades, Bloomberg noted.

The pair first met in 1985 when Xi was visiting Iowa as an agricultural official, according to Bloomberg. Since their first meeting, Branstad and Xi forged a friendship around their mutual interest in agriculture.