by Li Ping

The result of the U.S. presidential election is still awaiting to be officially or judicially confirmed though many country leaders have already congratulated Biden. Still supported by his loyal fans, Trump, who refused to admit defeat, has not let anyone down and dropped another bombshell. He announced to sanction four mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials and ban the Americans from investing in Chinese enterprises owned or controlled by the military. It was a stark contrast to the silence from Biden’s team. If the White House changes its resident, the U.S. might not do a U-turn on its policy on China, but it won’t be in Trump’s brutal and exhilarating style. Instead, it could be Biden’s sluggish and painful tactic that people hope for.

There was an interesting saying about the U.S. election: both left and right wings in China and Hong Kong want Trump to win. The left-wing wants him to win to bring down the U.S.; the right-wing wants him to win to bring down the CCP. What Trump has been mostly criticized since becoming the president in 2016 is that he makes irrational decisions. Waving the “Make America Great Again” flag, he withdrew from many international organizations and agreements such as the Paris Agreement, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The domestic and foreign critics both think that Trump’s withdrawal from these groups has weakened the U.S. position as the leader and has provided an opportunity for Xi Jinping, who intended to lead the reform of the global governance system and control the community with a shared future for mankind, to take advantage and step up.

Just when the CCP was secretly pleased with the Trump camp’s retreat, Trump’s random punch has knocked it for six. On Mar 22, 2018, Trump signed a memorandum and slapped tariffs on Chinese goods, which started the China-U.S. trade war. Xi, at one point, has refused to sign the unfavorable agreement and overturned their negotiation agreement, but has succumbed to the pressure from China’s economic and political instability, and signed the first stage trade agreement with the price tag of US$200 billion. It is laughable that the CCP state-run media claimed this agreement is a sign of “the end of the trade war” and boasted the China-U.S. cooperation is with “extraordinary strategic view and excellent political intelligence.”

Let’s say Trump’s aggressive and pushy tactics on the tariffs issues have forced the CCP to give in on the trade deals. Through the CCP’s suppression of Hong Kong’s anti-ELAB movement and the concealing of the Wuhan virus pandemic, the anti-Huawei and anti-CCP rallying from the Trump administration has the consensus of both the Republicans and the Democrats and echoed by democratic countries worldwide.

Many people feel that Trump’s actions toward China are irrational. When he first got elected, he made telephone calls with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and kept calling Xi his good friend; when he was enthusiastic, he did not mind lowering himself and signing a trade agreement with the Vice Premier of China. But he could also be cold and not communicating with the Chinese leader for months. Every punch thrown by Trump was powerful and hit where it hurts: the sudden shutting down of the Chinese Embassy in Houston, banning WeChat and TikTok, closing Confucius Institutes, drastically restricting the number of Chinese overseas students, canceling Hong Kong’s special trade status, banning “Made in Hong Kong” label, etc., which has totally exhausted the CCP.

The communication policy used by the U.S. for the past 40 years resulting in the CCP using American democracy and freedom to attack the U.S. and Trump; it took full control of Hong Kong under the name of national security and overturned Hong Kong’s autonomy. It shows there is no limit when it comes to the evilness of the authoritarian regime. If every tactic of the U.S. is so predictable by the CCP, it would definitely lose. Hence only “random punches” would have a chance for a surprise win.

Indeed, a tough policy toward the CCP is now the U.S. mainstream. The “Hong Kong Democracy and Human Rights Act” and “Hong Kong Autonomy Act” have been quickly passed by U.S. Congress with a high number of votes, which indicated the protests of Hongkongers won the firm support of the U.S. and international society. Therefore, many are sure the policy towards China would not have great change even though Biden would rejoin many international organizations and agreements if he takes office. Trump’s tough line would continue on China’s issues like human rights, Hong Kong, and the South China Sea. Biden might even strengthen the network of containing China when he coordinates better with other democratic countries. He could be using a slow and painful way to deal with China.

Whether Biden would implement the slow and painful tactic or not, the CCP would definitely have a chance to breathe. Mao Zedong once warned, “We must give our best and fight till the end, and should not let victory takes away our calmness and humbleness.” The CCP wants to use this opportunity when the world is suffering from the Wuhan virus crisis, political unrest, and tired economy, to take the leadership of the community with a shared future for mankind and become the global hegemony. If the U.S. hesitates and abandons to contain China with the world, I fear, in the end, it would be the U.S. that suffers from the consequence. And this is more worrying than the U.S. election result.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play