What does China’s media coverage of the US elections say about future US-China relations?

A number of themes began to surface in China’s reporting: the disorderly nature of the election process, the prominence of white supremacy and racial inequality, and the expenses that coincide with elections in the US.

As the majority of Americans stayed glued to news of the election returns in the days following November 3, some turned to China in hopes of a response that might glean insight into whether China wanted another four years of President Donald Trump, or a new hand at the wheel in the form of former Vice President Joe Biden.

However, there appeared to be little to no evidence that China favored one side over the other in the election. Indeed, SCMP cited military sources alleging that the Chinese military was directed to avoid coverage of the election entirely for fear of being misread as taking sides.

Instead, media outlets focused their attention on what they deemed to be “chaos” ensuing in the United States.

Media coverage

The day before the US election, China’s state media outlets picked up on reports of surging gun sales and business owners boarding up their shops in anticipation of election-related turmoil.

Later, as ballots were being tallied, state-broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported a surge in Americans seeking information on how to relocate to Canada, pointing to Google trend data that showed the search phrase “move to Canada” rising 700% on November 3.

A number of themes began to surface in China’s reporting: the disorderly nature of the election process, the prominence of white supremacy and racial inequality, and the expenses that coincide with elections in the US.

After Biden was announced the winner, CCTV aired footage of large crowds, while a correspondent reported that there were “not only verbal attacks but also even physical clashes.” In reality, there were few reports of violence.

Many outlets warned of future tensions between the US and China and spoke of the deterioration of American democracy.

Chinese media coverage expressly targeted Trump’s push to stop the vote count in states where his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, was likely to gain an edge.

CCTV also aired footage of Trump supporters chanting, “stop the count, stop the count,” while a caption on the screen read: “Multiple spots in the US have fallen into chaos.”

Social media

Comments from Chinese citizens on social media mirrored America’s own polarization and partisan debates, with Chinese people divided over who to support.

On Weibo, one of the most popular social media platforms in China, one user wrote, “A lot of smart, educated people around me have split into two camps [for Trump or Biden],” adding, “They each see the other side as senseless in supporting the other candidate.”

Despite this division, social media users in China were not shy in voicing their opinions.

On the day Biden was declared the winner, the second top trending topic on Weibo was the shooting of two people attending a pro-Trump rally in Florida. However, most media outlets didn’t mention that the shots fired were pellet rounds or that the two injured were treated for minor injuries and released shortly after.

The hashtag “US general election” was viewed 9.65 billion times and discussed over 1.68 million times. Two days after the election, the hashtag “Trump campaign sues in 3 swing states” was the top trending topic on Weibo.

Similarly, according to Baidu, the Google equivalent in mainland China, the second-most searched for term was the phrase “CNN host mocks Trump,” which was searched for over 4.44 million times. Just three days after the election, search terms regarding the US election took up the top five spots on Baidu.

Users also shared images that ridiculed the two candidates. In one, Biden was shown pinning Trump down in a wrestling match. In another Trump tells Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen that “Re-election seems hopeless, let’s run away!” as the two stand with luggage as if to depart.

Nevertheless, a majority of election-related comments seemed to favor President-elect Joe Biden.

China’s nationalistic tabloid Global Times tweeted that “Biden’s win could offer some ‘breathing room’ for China-US relations.’”

Echoing this optimism, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a press conference that, “We always hold that China and the US should manage existing differences on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs to achieve the sound and steady development of bilateral relations. We hope the new administration will work together with China in the same direction.”

Biden’s presidency for China

As critics seek to understand the future for the US and China, the search phrase “A comprehensive analysis of Biden’s three foreign policies toward China” found its way to number two in trending Baidu topics, prompted by a popular article in Beijing News.

The Biden administration has laid out a number of plans for the future US relationship with China and has stated that it will put the US in the position of setting the world’s trading rules, rather than China, by allying with neighboring Western countries to establish regulations related to the environment, labor, trade, technology and transparency.

Under Biden’s administration, the US will also attempt to cooperate with China on issues of mutual interest, such as climate change, the pandemic, the threat of nuclear proliferation and global health.

Indications are that the administration won’t shy away from taking strict measures to prevent China from becoming a global technological leader by making significant investments in American industries, including US$300 billion in technological development. Such industries also include manufacturing capacity and infrastructure.

It is also reported that the US will confront China on other issues such as military expansionism, human rights violations and unfair trade.

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