"Death by China" may just be the least subtle book ever written about the perceived fallout from Beijing's policies. The 2011 work takes on new relevance now that one of its co-authors, Peter Navarro, is advising a Trump administration girding for confrontation in Asia.

It's no mystery that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is gearing up for economic battle with China's leaders. He's vowed to kill the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, hinted at changing the "one-China" policy toward Taiwan and telegraphed security and environmental skirmishes to come. Uncertainty surrounding the Trump White House is but one of five major political risks facing Asia investors in 2017. Here's a glimpse of what's to come.

Asian stability gets trumped: It's the politics, stupid. In the year ahead, investors will find themselves experiencing the flip side of James Carville's "it's the economy, stupid" manta. They'll be less shocked by growth, inflation or trade data than erratic governing maneuvers, scandals and power grabs. Nowhere will that be truer than Washington, where Trump is tearing up rule books on China, Japan, North Korea and elsewhere in the most dynamic region.