How bad is Trump commerce pick Howard Lutnick – and his tariff talk – for China?

President-elect Donald Trump announced Lutnick as his pick on Tuesday, saying on social media that Lutnick would head the Commerce Department and “lead our tariff and trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative”.

The Wall Street billionaire is co-chair of Trump’s transition team and the chief executive of financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald. He was earlier tipped to be in the running for treasury secretary.

While the commerce secretary is responsible for promoting American businesses and industries, Lutnick would likely also have oversight over certain economic policies and play a key role in putting in place some of Trump’s proposed tariffs.

Trump – who imposed duties on around US$300 billion worth of imports from mainland China in his first term – campaigned on a threat to put tariffs of up to 60 per cent on all Chinese goods.

Dov Levin, associate professor of international relations at the University of Hong Kong, said Lutnick was likely to be a “loyal enactor” of Trump’s planned tariffs, given that he was a “long-standing supporter of Trump on Wall Street”.