The Chinese government’s muted reaction to Donald Trump’s victory belied a result that threatens to upend decades-old policy certainties in the region, with far-reaching consequences for the world’s second-largest economy. While president and Communist party general secretary Xi Jinping called the US president-elect to congratulate him, Sino-US relations could undergo a sea change if Trump follows through on his most bellicose rhetoric, according to the Financial Times. Trump has threatened Beijing with trade and currency wars. Conversely, he has suggested that the US could scale back its military presence in South Korea and Japan, handing China a geopolitical gift by weakening the “first island chain” that Chinese strategists say restrains their military’s ability to project power across the region.