By James MANNION
US President-elect Donald Trump has made his first call to the leader of China, and is "getting his arms around our foreign policy" as he prepares to assume the leadership of the world's sole superpower, a top aide said Monday.
The Republican billionaire's diplomatic foray came as US President Barack Obama was about to leave for a farewell visit to Europe to reassure worried allies about a man he once warned was "unfit" to lead the United States.
Ensconced at his Trump Tower headquarters in Manhattan -- a magnet of street protests -- since his shock election on November 8, Trump and his inner circle were again working Monday to shape his new administration.
More cabinet-level appointments will be rolled out this week, Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager told reporters in New York.
His first two appointments came Sunday -- onetime Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus is his White House chief of staff, and anti-establishment media firebrand Steve Bannon will be his chief strategist.
The appointment of Bannon -- the chief of ultra-conservative Breitbart News -- has raised hackles, with Jewish and Muslim leaders expressing concerns about Bannon, who has championed the so-called "alt-right" perspective.
The New York real estate mogul has also spent time calling world leaders, as he begins to develop ties with America's allies -- and adversaries.
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