China has problems with the US even after it has become clear that Donald Trump’s reign is certain to end. The emerging super power has not been on good terms with the established super power during the final year of Trump’s presidency. Trump called Covid-19 a Chinese disease exported from Wuhan. He built up a group of nations, including India, to fight against China’s expansionist designs. One would have expected China to be happy with the election results. But it is ambivalent in its response to the election of Joe Biden. It could be a case of once bitten twice shy. It went out of its way to welcome Hillary Clinton in 2016 even before she was declared elected. That she lost narrowly in mobilising electoral college votes is history. China felt it had made a mistake by jumping to conclusion and congratulating Hillary while it was Trump that had ultimately won.
Once bitten twice shy
In the wake of the bitter experience, China has been extra careful in reacting to the ambiguous outcome of US poll for a few days after November 3. But even after everyone, except perhaps Trump, has acknowledged the election of Joe Biden, China had got a faceless bureaucrat to issue a statement saying that it had taken note of the election. On Monday, China expressed its apprehensions at the prospects of the administration headed by Biden, the president-elect.
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‘Drop the illusion’
Chinese government advisor Zheng Tongnian, the Dean of the Advanced Institute of Global and Contemporary China Studies, a think tank based out of Shenzhen, has said that China must drop its illusion that its relations with the United States will automatically improve under President-elect Joe Biden. However, according to a report published by South China Morning Post, Zheng Yongnian has advised that every opportunity to mend relations with the US should be utilised by the Chinese government. “The good old days are over. The cold war hawks in the US have been in a highly mobilised state for several years, and they will not disappear overnight,” Zheng cautioned.
Biden is certainly a weak President
In a meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping in August to tender advice, Zheng said there is a consensus among all the political parties in the US on containing China. He also said Joe Biden could take advantage of the antagonism against China among the US citizens. The Chinese intellectual said Biden is certainly a weak president and if he cannot address the domestic issues he might take on countries like China by opting for aggressive diplomacy.
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