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From: TT
Published:
February 1 | Photo: Ju Peng / AP / TT
Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Shenzhen, southern China. Stock Photography.
Disorder, ambiguity and anger in the world’s largest democracy will be the Chinese Communist Party’s best argument for its system.
– For China, Trump is like being sent from heaven, says Professor Steve Tsang.
Beijing is always looking for ways to show that the communist one-party system is superior to Western democracy and what is happening now in the United States fits that narrative perfectly, Steve Tsang, a professor at SOAS University in London, tells TT .
– The United States is in total chaos, heading towards a constitutional crisis and regardless of whether they end there or not, electoral chaos blackens American democracy, he says.
The Communist Party can argue that it is bad, messy, even dangerous. This is important for the leadership in Beijing, especially to create legitimacy for its own policies in domestic politics.
“Perfect time”
There are also other benefits that Beijing can reap from the electoral chaos in the United States, says Steve Tsang. With Americans fully engrossed in theirs, while Europe locks itself into a second crown wave, Beijing is free to act if it wishes.
I am not saying that Beijing will attack Taiwan during these chaotic weeks, because we would have realized it if they were preparing for such a large operation. But if there is something Beijing wants to do, now is the perfect time to do it, he says.
The Chinese media report on a deeply divided America, a system on the brink of collapse, and a mood in society that is difficult to control. One point they make is that the United States has historically seeded divisions in countries where it wanted to see one, but that the United States can now try its own medicine.
“It remains to be seen how the ‘civil war’ unfolds as a result of the elections,” wrote the state-run Global Times in an editorial.
Unexpectedly nuanced
The opinion pieces, however, do not breathe as much hurt joy as might be expected, but instead take on a more subdued tone of concern, says Börje Ljunggren, a China expert and former ambassador to Beijing.
– It’s a bit surprising. They write that Trump has created a global instability characterized by aggression. There is a concern that the world is getting too unstable, I think I read, he tells TT.
Officially, there are still no reactions from the Asian superpower to what is happening to its competitor in the West, and even before the election, Beijing has not come out with a favorite. However, this is usually the case. And regardless of who wins the election, it will not mean a major change in White House policy in China, as there is a consensus between the parties on the issue. It is the evaluators who agree.
Made China “Great Again”
But there are still reasons for Beijing to prefer a candidate. And that’s Donald Trump, says Steve Tsang. Despite the trade wars and the misfortune of the virus. The main reason is that Trump will remain a president who chooses not to engage in multilateral cooperation and alliances, which Joe Biden is not expected to do. For Beijing’s power ambitions, it is better to have a divided world around it than a united one.
– For China, Trump is like being sent from heaven. Although Xi Jinping never really fell in love with Trump’s attempted bromance, they prefer it. But they wouldn’t say that, says Steve Tsang.
Börje Ljunggren disagrees. He believes that after four years of Trump, Beijing prefers Biden, even though it will push harder on human rights issues, for example.
– They think it would be easier and more predictable to deal with it. Even though Trump has made China “great again” during his time. China depends on some kind of work order. Biden also means opportunities for cooperation in, for example, the climate area.
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