Hong Kong CNN –
As the US election results began to emerge, Chinese state media did not miss the opportunity to highlight political polarization in America – and highlight the threat of post-voting unrest in its democratic superpower rival.
Beijing has long expressed anger at Washington’s criticism of authoritarian one-party rule. Under leader Xi Jinping, who has paved the way for lifelong rule, its mouthpieces have increasingly mocked the American political system and liberal democracy.
In a series of Election Day news reports and commentary, state media attempted to portray the vote as a reflection of deep social divisions and political dysfunction in the United States, amid a widespread sense in China that no matter who wins, bilateral relations are unlikely to sour. To improve.
“Voting on US Election Day begins amid fears of violence and unrest,” read a headline in the nationalist Global Times newspaper.
On state broadcaster CCTV, a reporter from Washington, D.C., focused on shuttered businesses, increased police patrols and metal fences erected around the White House and Capitol Hill to “prepare for the worst-case scenario of chaos,” while downplaying millions. Of people who peacefully exercise their democratic rights.
“The US election, once considered a highlight of the so-called ‘beacon of democracy’, may now become the starting gun for ‘social unrest,’” the state-run Beijing Daily newspaper claimed in a social media commentary.
“The elections seem like a farce, full of controversies. The root lies in extreme polarization and division between the two parties, which has already created a sharp division among voters.
Officially, the Chinese government sought to present a more neutral position, describing the elections as “an internal matter of the United States.”
“We respect the choice of the American people,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Naing said at a regular press conference on Wednesday, after former President Donald Trump was predicted to win several swing states.
“Our policy toward the United States is consistent. We will continue to view and handle China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” Mao said.
On Chinese social media, the US election ranked high among trending topics throughout Tuesday and Wednesday. On the microblogging site Weibo, there is a popular sarcastic phrase: “The country is so divided, they may break into US A and US B.”
But for many Chinese watching in the run-up to the vote, the focus was more on spectacle than substance – with a sense that no matter who wins, tensions in US-China relations will remain.
“For us ordinary Chinese people, whoever becomes president of the United States, whether it’s Candidate A or Candidate B, it’s the same,” Beijing resident Li Xu told CNN in the run-up to the opening of polls.
Perhaps one of the reasons for this is the consensus in China – from policymakers to ordinary citizens – that the decision has become in the hands of the US administration, which wants to restrict China’s rise on the global stage, regardless of whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former Vice President Kamala Harris is the president. Donald Trump wins.
Trump’s last term saw Republicans impose tariffs on Chinese goods worth hundreds of billions, launch a campaign against Chinese telecom giant Huawei and use racist language to describe the virus that causes Covid-19, which was first identified in China.
The past four years under President Joe Biden have seen a shift in tone and efforts to stabilize communications. But US concerns about China’s threat to its national security have deepened, as Biden has targeted Chinese technology industries with investment and export controls, as well as tariffs.
Biden also appears to be avoiding long-standing US policy of expressing support for Taiwan, a “red line” issue in the relationship for Beijing, which claims the self-governing democratic island as its own.
“(It doesn’t matter) who (wins),” one social media user wrote in a popular comment on Weibo. “Their containment of China will not ease.”
