By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON The Biden administration on Friday named Mark Lambert as its top China policy official at the State Department, appointing the veteran diplomat amid tense relations between the two powers over issues including Taiwan, trade and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Lambert will be the deputy assistant secretary for China and Taiwan as well as head the Office of China Coordination - informally known as China House - a team created late last year to unify China policies across regions and issues.

Reuters was first to report Lambert's planned appointment on Aug. 29.

An Asia expert who did two stints at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, Lambert most recently served as a deputy assistant secretary focused on Japanese, Korean and Mongolian affairs, and on relations with Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Don Durfee and Cynthia Osterman)