As on domestic issues, three politically distinct and ideologically conflicting early reactions emerged in China to Donald Trump declaring his victory in the 2024 presidential election in the early hours of the 6th. One, the government in Beijing has reacted cautiously, anticipating four years of more intense US-China rivalry; two, “hyper-” nationalist mainstream media dares Trump by screaming “Come On!”; and three, Maoist-left intelligentsia dismissively dubs Trump’s win a disaster.
Unlike most world leaders in Europe and Asia who rushed to congratulate Trump even before the official announcement of his winning the election, China’s top leaders typically neither reacted immediately nor showed signs of bracing up for a more aggressive anti-China Trump 2.0 administration. But reactions to Trump winning the election (as many in China had expected) among the analysts and in the media – just like in most US allies and partner countries – have been filled with pessimism and concern. “It is not all dark, but there are more challenges than opportunities,” said Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
The state-controlled media
Beijing’s first “official” reaction was from the Xinhua News agency published within minutes of Donald Trump declaring himself the winner, in the CPC mouthpiece – People’s Daily, a stark one-liner: “US Republican presidential candidate Trump announced his victory in the early hours of the 6th.” Later, at a regular press briefing the same day, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning expressed hope for “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation” with the US. Interestingly, Mao Ning gave a vague reply when asked when will China congratulate Trump? “We will handle relevant matters according to routine practice,” she said.
On the other hand, speculations are high in all forms of media and among commenters on whether Xi Jinping – in his capacity as either the CPC General Secretary or the PRC President – will send congratulatory messages to the Republican Party or to president-elect Donald Trump. While China’s foreign ministry has formally congratulated Trump on his election as US president– again a stark one-liner. The Beijing Daily – owned by the local government in Beijing, citing a question a correspondent from Spain asked the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, published a news report headlined “Will China officially congratulate Trump?”
To the surprise of many in China, news started filtering in that President Xi has finally extended congratulations to Donald Trump “on his election as president of the United States.” China’s Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday forenoon – almost twenty-four hours after the official US declaration of Trump win that Xi called for the “two countries to strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.” A quick browsing through readers’ views and comments in the newspapers is indicative of the popular opinion on the issue. Many readers have preferred that Xi should not rush to congratulate Trump and instead wait for the official announcement. Some took the view that President Xi can wait until January 20 next year – the day when Trump will take oath for the new office.
Come On, Trump!
China’s “hyper” nationalist Global Times appears to be careful and restrained so far. Perhaps since its former editor Hu Xijin was suddenly “silenced” following his misinterpretation of the CPC’s crucial 3rd Plenum “Decision” document earlier in July, is observing cautious and does not want to “jump the gun.” Therefore, the pro-Beijing English language tabloid has so far not published an edit or a commentary on the Trump victory. But the unputdownable pro-Beijing official media outlet has carried “strong” comments by a leading Chinese specialist on the US-China affairs. “The new [US] president can learn lessons from his previous term to better manage the US-China relations,” Professor Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on November 6.
Guancha.cn, the Chinese-language digital news and current affairs daily – perhaps China’s most widely read and hugely popular among the educated, urban intelligentsia – became the first and “boldest” media voice in the country to react to the Trump win. Within half an hour of Trump declaring his own victory in the early hours on November 6, guancha.cn uploaded “Guanwang Kuaiping,” or “Quick Edit.” The edit carried a rather unorthodox but “xenophobic” title, sounding as if daring the president-elect by screaming “Laiba, Telangpu” (Come on, Trump), China is ready for you!” The tone and tenor of the lengthy edit – without mincing words, reminded the readers to gear up to fight back fresh uncertainty in China’s ongoing struggle against the US and West with Trump’s “stunning” return to the White House.
The edit further claims that unlike the Trump 1.0 when China and the Chinese people were caught “off guard,” mostly because a) no one expected him to get elected and b) everyone thought Trump’s campaign was a joke. Once elected, then first during the Trump presidency and followed by his successor Biden – eight years of relentless anti-China hostile US attitude made Chinese people much like people generally in the Global South – relatively detached. As a result, people in China have watched the US election drama this time round with the mentality of “spectators.”
Maoist intelligentsia invokes Marx’s The Eighteenth Brumaire to ridicule Trump’s Victory
Typically, China’s fast growing leftist intelligentsia – highly critical of and always questioning both the status-quoist official media and the pro-liberal, “nationalist” semi-official mainstream media on most domestic economic and social issues – has scornfully dismissed Trump’s victory a disaster. A signed commentary by Maoist scholar Zhao Dingqi has drawn a parallel between Trump’s re-election and The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852). Eight years ago in the 2016 US presidential election, when Trump, a businessman turned politician and at the time a political novice, unexpectedly defeated Hillary Clinton, a veteran politician of the Democratic Party’s progressive faction, many Marxist scholars in China and abroad at the time parodied Marx’s historical masterpiece and called this event “Donald Trump’s 18th Brumaire,” Zhao wrote.
Currently circulating on WeChat and other digital platforms, the commentary ridicules Trump in the same manner in which Marx wrote of Bonaparte: “When a ridiculous historical event occurs for the first time, it can be regarded as an accidental absurdity, a historical farce; but when it occurs for the second time and repeats itself, it means that it is no longer an accident, but contains a certain inevitability. This absurdity with inevitability is a tragedy.” Describing Trump as the “21st century Louis Bonaparte,” Zhao attributed Trump’s re-election to his huge popularity among America’s “petit-bourgeoisie” and the white middle and lower classes.
“The white working class, which has been completely defeated economically, politically and spiritually, has lost confidence in its own political ability. Like the French peasants in the 19th century, they can no longer “protect their class interests in their own name”, and they need a spiritual “emperor” to lead them to restore their former glory – Trump plays such a role,” Zhao further added.
A quick look at digital news websites no doubt reveals that in the ideologically charged popular discourse on foreign affairs issues in China, the “leftist” intelligentsia is dominating the debate agenda. Let’s look at some of the latest commentary-titles – remember, China’s communist authorities are neither encouraging nor orchestrating these writings. Instead, the CPC is helpless as it cannot “censor” the left viewpoint. “Trump makes American history by becoming the first ‘criminal’ elected president,” “Trump wins: the great showdown between two Americas has begun!” “The US “election” is unlikely to have a “good ending”!” “Trump has won, China must prepare for the worst,” and “The US election creates history: Trump’s re-election has sounded the death of the public intellectual.”
To sum up, as China’s communist government takes a cautious, wait-and-watch view towards the new Trump administration, a Chinese reader’s comment best sums up the 2024 US election: “Miss Hahahaha (is how Kamala Harris is popularly called on the Chinese social media) victory would mean a little chaos in America; a Trump victory would lead the world into great chaos!”
