Donald Trump’s Victory Is Some of the Best Foreign News China Could Have Hoped For

[Crabtownboy]

As the world digested the reality of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the glee among China’s political establishment was hard to contain. “China is feeling a little bit delighted,” says Shen Dingli, deputy dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

The giddiness comes in various forms. First, what better advertisement for the stable, technocratic authoritarianism of the Chinese Communist Party than an America so divided that half the electorate failed to recognize how disenfranchised the rest of the nation felt?

“Trump’s election shows the problem of American democracy,” says Yu Tiejun, a professor of international studies at Peking University in Beijing.

The Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-linked tabloid, opined that the U.S. president-elect “was known for being a blowhard and an egomaniac. But if such a person can be president, there is something wrong with the existing political order.”

“There is a lot of Chinese schadenfreude about the lowly nature of the debate in the U.S. election campaign,” says Paul Haenle, director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing. “It’s a total gift.

http://time.com/4565891/donald-trump-china-foreign-policy/

I added the bold. This is a most telling statement. Watch for them to immediately test him in the South China Sea.

 

[InTheLight]

As the world digested the reality of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the glee among China’s political establishment was hard to contain. “China is feeling a little bit delighted,” says Shen Dingli, deputy dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

The giddiness comes in various forms. First, what better advertisement for the stable, technocratic authoritarianism of the Chinese Communist Party than an America so divided that half the electorate failed to recognize how disenfranchised the rest of the nation felt?

“Trump’s election shows the problem of American democracy,” says Yu Tiejun, a professor of international studies at Peking University in Beijing.

The Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-linked tabloid, opined that the U.S. president-elect “was known for being a blowhard and an egomaniac. But if such a person can be president, there is something wrong with the existing political order.”

“There is a lot of Chinese schadenfreude about the lowly nature of the debate in the U.S. election campaign,” says Paul Haenle, director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing. “It’s a total gift.

http://time.com/4565891/donald-trump-china-foreign-policy/

I added the bold. This is a most telling statement. Watch for them to immediately test him in the South China Sea.

Nope. The Russians are more likely to test Trump. The Chinese like to have confidence in the outcome before they take action. Trump is unpredictable, therefore they won't be trying anything soon.

I would also add that China is not happy that Trump got elected because of his threat of putting tariffs on Chinese goods and his rhetoric about ending Chinese patent infringements and Chinese currency manipulation. The Chinese have much to fear in Trump and very little to like.

 

[Crabtownboy]

Nope. The Russians are more likely to test Trump. The Chinese like to have confidence in the outcome before they take action. Trump is unpredictable, therefore they won't be trying anything soon.

I would also add that China is not happy that Trump got elected because of his threat of putting tariffs on Chinese goods and his rhetoric about ending Chinese patent infringements and Chinese currency manipulation. The Chinese have much to fear in Trump and very little to like.

I believe both will test him and pretty quickly.

Threatening to put tariffs on their products is a paper tiger. They would simply respond in kind. Tariffs would hurt the American people in raising prices. Tariffs would not hurt the Chinese people but very little. Also, they might well put further restrictions on American companies doing business and/or manufacturing items in China.

Hufbauer says Trump could stick with his promise of declaring China a currency manipulator on his first day in the White House. That would begin a process of re-evaluating the trade relationship with China. He might be unlikely to follow through on his proposal of a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods, which would greatly increase the price of many goods for American consumers. But Trump might impose a lower tariff, say 5 percent — which by itself could also spark a trade war with China.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-trump-trade-deals-20161109-story.html

 

[Squire Robertsson]

Both the Kremlin and the Forbidden City are in for shocks. We've seen what happens when you cross Trump. He takes such matters personally and it doesn't get pretty. Ask Jeb Bush

 

[Crabtownboy]

Both the Kremlin and the Forbidden City are in for shocks. We've seen what happens when you cross Trump. He takes such matters personally and it doesn't get pretty. Ask Jeb Bush

Are you seriously suggesting that dealing with a foreign leader and government is the same as dealing with a political opponent. Surely you jest on this one.

 

[Squire Robertsson]

What I'm suggesting is both think they've got a patsy. When they break an agreement or otherwise do something Trumps perceives as disrespecting him or the US, they are going to find out they aren't dealing with the current administration.

Are you seriously suggesting that dealing with a foreign leader and government is the same as dealing with a political opponent. Surely you jest on this one.

 

[Crabtownboy]

What I'm suggesting is both think they've got a patsy. When they break an agreement or otherwise do something Trumps perceives as disrespecting him or the US, they are going to find out they aren't dealing with the current administration.

I do not share your optimism, but I hope you are correct and that he responds in a tough but rational way and does not go off like he did on twitter. That would accomplish nothing.