Chinese-American may head commerce dept

US President Barack Obama is expected to name Chinese-American Gary Locke as his pick for commerce secretary, the Associated Press reported yesterday.

If appointed, the former Washington state governor will be the third Chinese-American after Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu to join the Obama Cabinet.

Obama's choice of Locke comes less than two weeks after his earlier pick, Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, backed out. Gregg cited "irresolvable conflicts" with the policies of the Democratic president.