US President-elect Donald Trump named Peter Navarro, an economist who has urged a hard line on trade with China, to head a newly formed White House National Trade Council, the transition team said on 20th Dec 2016.
Navarro is an academic and one-time investment adviser who has authored a number of popular books and made a film describing China's threat to the US economy as well as Beijing's desire to become the dominant economic and military power in Asia.
Navarro, 67, is a professor at University of California, Irvine, and advised Trump during the campaign. He has authored several books including "Death by China: How America Lost its Manufacturing Base," which was made into a documentary film.
Navarro has also suggested a stepped-up engagement with Taiwan, including assistance with a submarine development programme.
He argued that Washington should stop referring to the "one China" policy, but stopped short of suggesting it should recognise Taipei.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.
Trump has also vowed to pull the United States out of the TPP, a free-trade pact aimed at linking a dozen Pacific Rim nations that President Barack Obama signed in February.
The president-elect has also vowed to renegotiate the NAFTA pact with Canada and Mexico, saying it had cost American jobs.
