Donald Trump is a mixed blessing for Chinese leaders

The incoming Trump administration faces the task of maintaining influence in the face of rising Chinese strategic ambitions while accommodating Asian countries that are being drawn into Beijing's economic orbit.

Over U.S. objections, Beijing has moved to cement its claim to most of the South China Sea, including by building artificial islands and military airstrips atop coral reefs.

[...] businesspeople and economists say Washington is bound to be tougher on trade, market access and currency after the election laid bare Americans' anxiety about jobs and stagnant wages.

[...] business groups complain Beijing is trying instead to squeeze foreign rivals out of technology and other promising industries in violation of its free-trade commitments.

The United States, along with Germany and other trading partners, are increasingly frustrated that their companies are blocked from buying Chinese assets in most industries while China Inc. is on a global acquisition spree.

"The biggest threats to the economy stem from Trump's protectionist stance on trade, anti-immigration policies and the weakening of government finances stemming from expected tax cuts," Sarah Boumphrey of Euromonitor International said in a report.

Trump's election adds to the urgency of winding up negotiations begun in 2013 on a bilateral investment treaty before President Barack Obama leaves office, said Jake Parker, vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council, which represents some 200 companies.

"Bilateral trade over the past decades has tangibly benefited the U.S. people and created jobs instead of harming their interests," said a foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang.

Tough talk on China has featured in every U.S. presidential campaign since 1992, when then-candidate Bill Clinton dubbed the ruling Communist Party the "butchers of Beijing."