People in China have reacted with both pleasure and disappointment at Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. Many view Trump as new and uNPRedictable on one hand, but practical and candid on the other.
Republican nominee Trump has won the race to the White House. Compared with Hillary Clinton, whom many Chinese are familiar with, Trump is something of an unknown entity. Many Chinese see him as having a distressing level of volatility.
“I don’t think Trump is reliable. I’ve got the feeling that there is going to be chaos in the U.S. under his presidency. He is a political outsider, not professional enough to run the country,” said one Chinese citizen.
“I believe that Trump has been putting on a show from the beginning of the presidential campaign to promote his own brand. I don’t think he is taking it seriously,” said another.
“You don’t know what exactly Trump is thinking about. He is a businessman, not a politician,” said another Chinese.
Trump has had tough words about China, accusing the world’s second largest economy of unfair trade and currency practices. He has vowed to fight China by charging high tariffs on its goods.
But Trump also has fans in China. There is even a population within the country that is actively rooting for him. They are counting on his business instincts to best serve China’s interests.
“Hillary is quite fake. She brought a lot of trouble to the China-U.S. relations in the past. But Trump is a businessman, so he is more pragmatic, and he is straightforward,” said a Chinese Trump supporter.
“I support Trump because he thinks highly of China-U.S. relations. He knows China is getting stronger, and the U.S. has to face it and cooperate,” said another.
Trump will officially take office in January 2017, the same year that the Communist Party of China will hold its 19th Congress and elect the new central leading group.
For China, Trump is new and uNPRedictable, so what lies ahead for the two nations is unclear. Many Chinese are now hoping to see that Trump is able to handle China issues well and exercise policy that benefits both countries.