WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be the U.S. ambassador to China, leaning on a former business executive turned politician to serve as the administration's envoy to America's most potent economic and military adversary.

Trump said in a social media post Thursday that Perdue "brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China."

Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a 2022 primary against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor.

During his time in the Senate, Perdue was labeled as "anti-China" in a 2019 Chinese think tank report. The former Georgia lawmaker advocated for a more robust naval force to cope with threats, including from China.

Before launching his political career, Perdue held a string of top executive positions, including at Sara Lee, Reebok and Dollar General.

Economic tensions will be a big part of the U.S.-China picture for the new administration.

Trump has threatened to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington cautioned earlier this week that there will be losers on all sides if there is a trade war.

"China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature," embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu posted on X. "No one will win a trade war or a #tariff war." He added that China had taken steps in the last year to help stem drug trafficking.

In response to Perdue's nomination, Liu on Thursday night said in a statement that China "is ready to engage in dialogue, expand cooperation, and manage differences with the incoming US government so as to maintain stability in China-US relations to the benefits of the two countries and the world at large."