Opinion | Four more years for Obama to make his mark
China and Asia are sure to figure prominently in Barack Obama's second term, but he also faces the huge challenge of a looming 'fiscal cliff' in an America that has become deeply polarised
Once the party ends after US President Barack Obama's historic - and bitterly fought - re-election, he faces a sobering stack of issues demanding urgent attention.
And among the folders in his in-tray will be ones marked "China" and "Asia".
Amid all the rancour of his long campaign against Republican rival Mitt Romney, one of the few areas of loose bipartisan agreement was Washington's approach to the region.
Their debates saw a sharpening of the sense that Washington must stand up to Beijing on the trade and economic fronts and enhance relationships with other East Asian nations while seeking to deepen engagement with China. Both camps also showed concern about uncertainties in China's future direction.
While there were differences in detail - Romney's threat to instantly brand China a "currency manipulator" being one - the general thrust was very similar.
Li Daokui, a China specialist at Tsinghua University's school of economics, said the re-election of Obama was a worrying sign for Sino-US ties.