Many Chinese offer neutral attitudes toward American elections

In recent weeks, Chinese media has been covering the events of the American presidential election, with headlines from major outlets like CCTV and Sina. Despite this coverage, many Chinese citizens feel a sense of neutrality about the U.S. elections, observing it as an interesting yet distant spectacle.

With only one day left before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Chinese and American scholars have different opinions on Beijing’s preferred candidate, but there is a consensus that no matter who is ultimately elected, Beijing is unlikely to usher in a U.S. regime that is friendly to China.

"This election will not change the current situation of the U.S.'s strategic competition with China," Diao Daming, director of the Department of Diplomacy at Renmin University of China, said (Trump vs. Kamala Harris: Who does China prefer for the US presidency?).

The Republican candidate Donald Trump took the lead in launching a trade war against China during his tenure. On the economic front, Trump has proposed across-the-board tariffs of 10% to 20% on nearly all imports, as well as tariffs of 60% or higher on Chinese goods, measures he claims will boost U.S. manufacturing. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said that if China "enters Taiwan," he will impose tariffs of 150% to 200% on Chinese goods.

The current Biden administration has continued its tough stance on Beijing, introducing a number of export restrictions on China to weaken Beijing's ability to obtain key technologies. It is believed that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris will roughly follow the same strategy as Biden, with only minor differences. At the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, Aug. 22, she mentioned China only once in her keynote speech; she pledged to ensure that “America, not China, wins the competition in the 21st century.”

Taiwan is an important issue for China's own agenda. A red line for Beijing is Washington DC's support for "separatist forces." According to the latest Brookings Institution poll, 55% of Taiwanese believe that the United States will support Taiwan's defense no matter who is in the White House. There is no doubt that American military support for Taiwan would be strongly opposed by the Chinese government.

As a Chinese citizen, I’m not particularly invested in the U.S. presidential election. However, as a journalism student studying in the United States, I am following it closely. This election has become a major topic of discussion and engagement around me recently.

From my perspective, the American election is like choosing the lesser of two evils. Whichever side wins, it will raise import taxes on China, which will greatly increase the cost of living for the American people. In fact, after living in the United States for a year, my impression is that the U.S. government does not care about the lives of the bottom and small middle class. In the United States, the cost of living are much higher than in China, but the people at the top lived in luxury. But the luxury of one class is counterbalanced by the indigence of another.

From last year, the U.S. government refuses to call for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians. The U.S. government under the Biden administration has been aiding this murderous slaughter.

On the other hand, Trump didn’t apologize for his white supremacist ideology involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, and he had indictment on 91 charges in four different criminal cases.

For Chinese citizens, observing the American election feels like watching a significant global event unfold, but from a comfortable distance. Yet, amidst this global attention, many Chinese people hold a surprisingly neutral stance toward the American election, seeing it more as a distant event than a critical factor in their daily lives. The key is no matter who is elected between Trump and Harris, the U.S.'s view on China will not change. This is because the tension between China and the United States is not based on any individual. The social consensus in the US is to regard China as a "potential challenger, rival or even a long-term threat."