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As the US elections approach and Trump’s reelection prospects are unclear, influential academics in China are increasingly concerned that the head of the White House will try to launch a new confrontation. to increase your chances of winning the election.
The new attacks on China also help Trump to distract from domestic problems such as unemployment or accuse a false response to Covid-19, making the United States the largest epidemic area in the world. .
The U.S.-Chinese delegation at a White House luncheon on January 15 after the two sides signed a trade agreement. Image: Washington Post.
“Those guys are crazy. There is nothing they dare not do to harm China, to destroy China,” said Jiaqing Kwok, professor of international relations at Peking University. to the Chinese government, comment. “As Trump’s re-election declines, we fear he will seek to create another crisis with China.”
Trump has consistently denied criticism of his response to Covid-19, repeatedly blaming China for hiding information when new outbreaks break out, causing viruses to spread around the world. He even called nCoV “Wuhan virus” or “Chinese virus.”
“Strategic competition and globalization reversal happened earlier, but Covid-19 made it accelerate more quickly,” said An Hoang, professor of international relations at Tsinghua University. “Trump is an extremely special person. It is very difficult to find a foundation or a knowledge base for what he did.”
The concerns about the rise of China are not just bipartisan issues, but have now spread to public opinion in this country. The latest survey by the Pew Research Center on American attitudes toward China found that 73% of respondents have negative thoughts about China, up 26 percentage points from 2018.
When Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden regularly takes the lead in polls on the possibility of elections, analysts in China think that President Trump may use “tricks” to arouse the outrage of chimpanzees. national god.
In fact, Trump’s criticism of China of late doesn’t end with trade or Covid-19. The Trump administration has cracked down on Beijing on the issue of Hong Kong or Xinjiang, prompting speculation that the issue of Taiwan and the South China Sea will be on the hit list below. Triumph.
Based on Trump’s growing intensity in his approach to China, Chinese scholars even draw the scenario that the US president could order the military to launch a “limited attack” against China’s illegal claim in the South China Sea, or the prospect of the Trump administration establishing formal diplomatic relations with the island of Taiwan.
“These possibilities are less likely to occur. However, in the past it was difficult to imagine scenarios, but now they are possible,” said the professor from An Hoang’s time.
The United States has long recognized Beijing’s “One China” policy, but the Trump administration is challenging its limits. They sold arms in increasing numbers to Taiwan and recently sent Health Minister Alex Azar to visit the island, making him the highest-ranking US official to meet with the Taiwanese leader in four decades.
Last week, U.S. Deputy Foreign Minister Keith Krach also visited Taiwan, a move that prompted China to immediately dispatch large numbers of fighters and bombers to conduct drills near the Taiwan Strait, apparently aimed at sending messages. of warning to the island and the EE.
In the South China Sea, China has conducted drills with long-range bombers and other types of fighter jets. Its warships have also repeatedly encountered US warships conducting free-sailing operations in the South China Sea.
The US Navy has increased operations around China’s illegally enriched islands in the South China Sea to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as to demonstrate Washington’s commitment to allies and stability in the area. . However, it also increases the risk of a confrontation with China, either intentionally or accidentally.
Fears that the Trump administration will vigorously step up actions against China ahead of the November 3 US presidential election changed Beijing’s calculations.
Beijing often prefers re-elected US presidents because it doesn’t change the coping strategy much, says Dao Jingzhou, a lawyer and observer of Chinese politics. But in the current situation, China’s stance towards Trump has shifted in a different direction.
“If Trump is re-elected, the risk of a Cold War will be more likely and a hot one is not out of the question,” Dao said.
In a recent comment in the Global Times, editor-in-chief Hu Tich Tien wrote: “The risk of mainland China being dragged into war is greater.”
“China must be a nation that dares to fight. This must be based on both force and will. We have the power in our hands, we can be right and we defend our interests without ours.” That way, whether China fights or not, we will still earn the respect of the world, “stressed Ho Tich Tien.
