Trump picks Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad -- a `friend' of China's leader -- as Beijing ambassador

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Under the Obama administration, experts say, the post of ambassador to Beijing had declined somewhat in importance. China policy was largely run out of the White House, with the president tending to immerse himself in many of the details.

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China has been a fast-growing market for Iowa's agriculture and processed food, with exports from the state up by a factor of 13 between 2000 and 2010 to $6.3 billion, according to Chinese state media.

That fact alone may reassure some people that Trump will not start a trade war with China, since retaliation from Beijing in the shape of reduced soybean and corn imports would hurt not only Iowa but also other Republican-controlled agricultural states.

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Branstad was a vocal backer of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-nation trade deal championed by the Obama administration that Trump has pledged to rip up on his first day in office. Branstad said his state's large agricultural industry would benefit from the accord, boosting exports of pork, corn and poultry and creating jobs.