Frenemies: How does China view Trump and Clinton?

As the U.S. Presidential Election Day approaches, the Chinese are paying closer attention to who will be elected as the next president. It has become normal for candidates to take the anti-China posture over the years, and has continued to be at the forefront of issues this presidential election. Trump has made controversial statements about China like, the country’s currency devaluation would “suck the blood out” of America or “We [Americans] can’t continue to allow China to rape our country.” Although, Trump has taken his rhetoric about China to new heights, but Clinton has gained a reputation of being “very fierce” when it comes to China, according to a Chinese official. We have discussed over the past few weeks how both candidates’ rhetoric has influence American voters, but how do the Chinese view the rhetoric of Trump and Hillary?

Hillary is No Friend of China’s

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Some Chinese officials look at Clinton — the current secretary of state under President Barack Obama— as the candidate who would bring continuity to U.S.-China in regards to the two countries’ intertwined economies, but this assertion ignores differences between her and President Obama. Not only is Clinton generally considered more to have a more aggressive rhetoric than Obama on issues of projecting American strength abroad, but she has demonstrated a pattern of criticizing China on trade and human rights issues.  Clinton’s history with China extends all the way from a 1995 speech that stirred controversy in Beijing, up to a recent 2015 tweet about the country’s persecution of feminists.  Although Clinton’s plans with trade with China may be less harsh than Trump, her rhetoric is more predictable than Trump. “She is predictable, they generally know how she approaches China: There are aspects they don’t like about her, but they generally know what to expect,” Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia and director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said.

“Donald Trump is a Puzzlement”

Trump’s campaign has used recurrent pattern of language to gain American supports that were negatively affected by the U.S. Trade policy with China. However, Trumps rhetoric to gain American manufacturing supporters has created an adverse effect in regards to the Chinese.  According to Chinese officials, Donald trump is a puzzlement. “They don’t like his proclamations about what he would do in terms of tariffs on Chinese goods, and that he’d go after China on economic and trade issues. But having said that, I don’t think there are many who think he can follow through on what he’s talking about, or even if he knows what he’s talking about,” Kenneth Lieberthal, senior fellow emeritus, said. On the contrary, many Chinese actually support Trump. Not because they agree with his trade policies, but because of his rhetoric on issue of the Islamic State and terrorism and low-set focus on human rights, oppose to his opponent Clinton. They believe that his focus on these issues will distract him from U.S.-Sino relations.

Friends and Enemies

Ultimately, the Chinese will remain frenemies with the United States regardless if either candidate is elected into office. Trump’s aggressive rhetoric may be affective to his American supporters, but the Chinese do not seem to be very receptive to him actually being a threat to their economy in regards to his trade reform. Clinton may not be liked by the Chinese, and could use less harsh rhetoric when it comes to China to build a better relationship with the country.