PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed economist Peter Navarro, an outspoken critic of China, as the head of a new national trade body, the BBC reports.
Mr Navarro will lead the new White House National Trade Council and serve as director of trade and industrial policy.
The academic was an adviser to Mr Trump during the election campaign.
His books include The Coming China Wars and Death by China, in which he is deeply critical of Chinese policy.
During the election, the president-elect made trade issues a core campaign issue, criticising some deals made with countries like China and Mexico.
Mr Trump has already angered China by speaking with the Taiwanese president by phone, in violation of the US’s decades-long “one China” policy.
He has also openly criticised China in outbursts on Twitter, recently accusing them of devaluing their currency to impede US competition, among other claims.
