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Josephine Ma

The United States presidential election debate got the internet buzzing over the weekend, but the reaction in China was relatively moderate.
There were comments by state media but almost all were carefully balanced in their tone to make sure that they did not appear to favour Joe Biden or Donald Trump.
Instead, most framed the debate as a debacle reflecting the weaknesses of US democracy.
The state news agency Xinhua said the debate exposed the shortcomings of both candidates while another report hours later described it as an “American-style reality show”.
The comments on Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo were more lively. But the censors also made sure there was no strong sense one candidate was being favoured over the other.
A hashtag for discussions about the debate read: “The debate has posed a dilemma for US voters”, saying it highlighted the weaknesses of both men and made it hard for voters to choose.
Many mainland internet users described the debate as a confrontation between “dongwang”, which can be translated as “the king of knowledge”, and “shuiwang”, which can be translated as the “sleepy king”.
The former was a nickname given to Trump by Chinese internet users during the Covid-19 pandemic to ridicule his notorious comment that “nobody knows the coronavirus better than me”. The latter referred to Trump’s description of his opponent as “Sleepy Joe”.
It is not a surprise that while Beijing is happy to use the occasion to mock US democracy, it is careful to make sure that it won’t show favour to any of the two candidates.
Both have made fighting the “China threat” an important element of the campaign and Beijing is also keen to avoid giving the impression that it is interfering in the election.
From Beijing’s point of view, neither candidate will make a big difference to the trajectory of China- US relations, as the rivalry is expected to become more intense with Beijing coming under more pressure economically and geopolitically, particularly in areas such as advanced technology.


Although Biden has faced calls to step aside to make way for another Democratic candidate following his poor performance in the debate, the 81-year-old appears unlikely to do so at present and he has indicated that he thinks he is the party’s best chance of defeating Trump.
For Beijing, if Biden wins the election, it can at least expect continuity in the approach to diplomatic and economic policy.
If Trump wins, Beijing will have to recalibrate as the former president is highly unpredictable.
Many analysts have predicted this year will be a tumultuous year for US-China relations, although there are still a few positive signs.
Communications between the two countries have increased – including at the government and sub-national level as well as among academics and business.
These communications restarted late last year as both countries began to pave way for the November summit between Biden and Xi Jinping in California.
Although tensions remain, at least both sides have started talking to each other more.
Although Biden told Xi during their summit last year that the US would adhere to the one-China policy regarding Taiwan, he has also said repeatedly that the US would come to the island’s assistance if Beijing uses force.


China has also accused the US of trying to build a Nato-like alliance in the Pacific, but Trump seems to be less interested in US allies and if he wins it will inject a new level of uncertainty into Washington’s relationship with the Philippines.
That is why now is an important time for policy makers, academics, government advisers, and the business community on both sides to lay a foundation for managing relations in a more sensible way, especially when there are many uncertainties ahead.


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Opinion

China Opinion

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US Elections

Official media was happy to take potshots at US democracy after the Biden-Trump debate, but it does not want to be seen to be taking sides


Official media was happy to take potshots at US democracy after the Biden-Trump debate, but it does not want to be seen to be taking sides.


US presidential election 2024

Joe Biden

Joe Biden’s China policy

Donald Trump

Alleged Chinese influence on US politics

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Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Why China is happy to stay on the sidelines in the US presidential contest

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Official media was happy to take potshots at US democracy after the Biden-Trump debate, but it does not want to be seen to be taking sides

Official media was happy to take potshots at US democracy after the Biden-Trump debate, but it does not want to be seen to be taking sides