Facing an incoming United States president whose outspoken tweets have lashed out at China now and then, observers in Beijing are mostly adopting a wait-and-see attitude, with some cautioning that the Trump administration could have a "severe impact" on Sino-US economic ties.

Two days after his unprecedented phone conversation with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen stirred up widespread concerns about Beijing-Washington relations, US president-elect Donald Trump drew fresh attention from Chinese with his latest tweets.

Trump wrote on Twitter, according to wire reports, "Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into their country (the US doesn't tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don't think so!"