US elections: who does China really want to win, and will it make a difference?
- Joe Biden may adopt a more conventional approach to diplomacy compared with Donald Trump, but many observers expect the rivalry between the two countries to endure
- Beijing’s foreign policy establishment is split over which candidate is the ‘lesser of two evils’, but some hope it is not too late to reset relations
As voters in the United States prepare for the presidential election in November, the South China Morning Post will explore the potential ramifications for China. In this first part of the series, Shi Jiangtao examines the high stakes for China, which both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have branded a central threat to US interests.
While Joe Biden’s campaign may be widely perceived as offering American voters a “return to normalcy” after the Trump era, few expect the same when it comes to US-China relations.
While the former vice-president is currently ahead in the polls, many pundits expect the race to tighten, and China is likely to become one of main foreign policy areas where the two candidates look to gain an edge by exploiting their rival’s perceived vulnerabilities.
Both Donald Trump and Biden once bragged about their personal connection to Chinese President Xi Jinping, but have markedly shifted their stance in the past few months, sparring fiercely over who will be tougher on the Communist Party.
With the future hanging in the balance, Beijing has dramatically toned down its nationalist rhetoric and largely stayed reticent about the upcoming elections.
Such uncharacteristic caution is highly revealing about what Beijing really thinks about the forthcoming elections – a make-or-break moment for US-China relations, according to former diplomats and observers.
