Trump picks ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as top diplomat

US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as his nominee to be secretary of state, despite concerns on both sides of the political aisle about the oilman's deep ties to Russia.

Trump promised that the executive, whose nomination was immediately welcomed by Vladimir Putin's Kremlin, has relationships with world leaders that are "second to none."

The nomination came just days after the CIA accused Russia of interfering to help Trump win the US election -- a development which could complicate Tillerson's confirmation hearings before the Senate.

It also came just as France's President Francois Hollande and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel called for sanctions imposed on Moscow over its intervention in Ukraine to be maintained.

As ExxonMobil CEO, Tillerson was a vocal opponent of sanctions that thwarted his attempt to strike huge oil deals in the Russian Arctic.

In 2013, Tillerson was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by President Vladimir Putin following several years of Exxon projects in the country.

Trump said Tillerson "will be a forceful and clear-eyed advocate for America's vital national interests, and help reverse years of misguided foreign policies and actions that have weakened America's security and standing in the world."

In early reaction, a senior Kremlin aide said Putin and other Russians have "good, business-like relations" with Tillerson and praised him as a "very solid figure."

Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson has spent his entire career at Exxon, which he joined in 1975.

As ExxonMobil's president and chief executive, the 64-year-old Texan oversees the company's business activities in more than 50 countries. Appointed CEO in 2006, he was due to retire in March.

"Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none," Trump said.

Secret CIA findings

US media have been reporting for days on secret CIA findings that Moscow sought to bolster Trump's election bid against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton by releasing hacked Democratic Party documents.

Tillerson -- who has no formal foreign policy background -- is sure to face sharp questions in the Senate confirmation hearings.

Senior Republican Senator John McCain has said Tillerson's ties to Putin are "a matter of concern."

"Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying," McCain said before the nomination was formalized.

Democratic congressman Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committe, said Tillerson was "not qualified."

"Aside from his utter lack of diplomatic experience, Mr. Tillerson's cozy ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia would represent an untenable conflict at the State Department," he said.

Leading senators including McCain on Monday threw their backing behind a congressional investigation into US intelligence assessments on Russia election interference, putting top Republicans on a collision course with the incoming president.

The president-elect has dismissed the intelligence reports about Russian interference as "ridiculous," defying an increasing number of senators from his own party, as well as top Democrats, the Central Intelligence Agency and the outgoing White House.

Tillerson bested eight or nine contenders for the job of secretary of state, including former CIA director David Petraeus, former UN ambassador John Bolton, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and erstwhile Trump critic and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and former defense secretary Bob Gates, who have done consultancy work for ExxonMobil, praised the choice.

"He will bring to the post remarkable and broad international experience; a deep understanding of the global economy; and a belief in America's special role in the world," Rice said.

Russia and China

Trump's secretary of state will be tasked with overseeing international relations for a president intent on trashing protocol and upending relationships built on decades of delicate diplomacy.

With more than five weeks to go before he is sworn in, Trump is already ruffling feathers with his statements about two major world powers: Russia and China.

The president-elect has stoked alarm -- even among fellow Republicans -- by calling for closer ties with Moscow, in contrast to the belief in Washington that Russia remains a global security threat.

And Sino-US relations are strained after a series of moves by Trump that provoked China, America's biggest single goods trading partner and the holder of almost a trillion dollars in US government debt.

Trump raised eyebrows by taking a congratulatory call from the president of Taiwan, a self-ruling island that Beijing considers a rogue province awaiting unification.

'No new deals'

The president-elect also said late Monday that his businesses would steer clear of negotiating new deals during his White House tenure.

"No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office," the 70-year-old tycoon said on Twitter, adding that he would be leaving his businesses before taking office and that his two adult sons, Don and Eric, would manage his companies.

Critics argue that it would be an unprecedented ethical conflict for Trump to maintain interest in properties spanning the globe -- investments that rely partly on goodwill from foreign governments and regulators.