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Trump signals tough stance on China with hawkish cabinet appointments..

 US president-elect’s picks for top roles in incoming administration lean heavily on China hawks.


 Trump on Tuesday nominated former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to head the CIA, FOX News host and army veteran Pete Hegseth as secretary of defence, and Florida Congressman Michael Waltz as national security adviser.

On Monday, the president-elect named Elise Stefanik, a congresswoman who holds a House of Representatives seat for New York, as his pick for United Nations ambassador.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, meanwhile, is widely expected to be tapped for secretary of state.

All five are known for viewing the US and China as being locked in a Manichean struggle for power and advocating a hard line towards Beijing.

Other notable China hawks floated as candidates to join Trump’s administration include former Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty and former US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Trump plans to name Lighthizer his “trade czar”.

Lighthizer played an instrumental role in Trump’s trade war during his first term in office, helping to craft tariffs on $380bn worth of Chinese goods. See More

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