China said on Wednesday it hoped for “peaceful coexistence” with the United States at a time when projections gave the probable victory of the American presidential election to Donald Trump against Kamala Harris.
“We will continue to approach and manage China-U.S. relations on the basis of the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. a regular press briefing.
In accordance with the habits of Chinese diplomacy, she did not comment directly on the possibility of a re-election of Donald Trump.
“We respect the choice of the American people”, regardless of the outcome of the vote, she simply declared.
Asked whether Chinese President Xi Jinping would call Donald Trump to congratulate him, she said China will act “in accordance with usual practices” and “after the results are published and officially announced.”
As everywhere else, the election was closely followed in China.
On the Chinese social network Weibo, similar to X, several topics relating to Donald Trump’s victory were among the most discussed on the platform.
“Congratulations to Donald Trump! Focus on building your beautiful country and stop thinking about meddling in the affairs of other nations,” wrote one user.
Both candidates campaigned on promises to get tougher on Beijing, with Donald Trump promising to impose 60% tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the country.
“The trade war begins,” wrote a user of another Chinese social network, Xiaohongshu, China’s equivalent of Instagram.
“My family works in international business and their world just fell apart,” another user wrote on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.
Strained relationships
Analysts expect a major economic recovery plan, discussed this week at a meeting of China’s parliament, to be more important in the event of a Donald Trump victory.
China never comments on other countries’ election campaigns, saying it does not want to interfere in their internal affairs. But she is opposed to being named as an opponent in campaign themes.
During his first term, Donald Trump launched a bitter trade war with China, imposing very high tariffs on Chinese goods.
He said he was acting in reaction to what he considered unfair practices by Beijing, accusing it of theft of American technology and manipulation of the Chinese currency.
Under his successor Joe Biden, relations hit a decades-long low, after Washington imposed steep new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, electric vehicle batteries and photovoltaic cells.
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