Читать книгу American Presidential Elections in a Comparative Perspective - Группа авторов - Страница 22

Chinese Perceptions of the 2016 US Presidential Election

Zhang Guoxi

This chapter examines Chinese perceptions of the 2016 US presidential election, an event of global significance that has generated unusual interest and concern among both China’s elites and its general public. The contest for the White House in 2016 was characterized by one Chinese media outlet as the reality version of Game of Thrones.¹ The two major contestants, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, were the most searched and discussed topics for many Chinese citizens.² For some of China’s pundits, the election became an industry of its own, providing them with numerous opportunities for media and TV appearances as well as for research and publication.³ The Chinese government, bound by its non-interference policy, admittedly followed the US election “with great interest.”⁴ To the extent that every presidential election in the United States is watched with great care in China, the nearly unprecedented attention that has been paid to this year’s election not only affirms the unique relevance of the United States to China, but also reveals the uniqueness of the 2016 presidential election as far as the Chinese are concerned.

What is it about the US presidential election that interests and concerns the Chinese? In particular, what were the unique characteristics of the 2016 presidential election that contributed to the outpouring of attention from the Chinese? How did the Chinese view the election; what were their perceptions of the major candidates and issues; and what were their reactions to the election’s outcome? To what extent did the 2016 presidential election change Chinese perceptions of the United States in general? Last but certainly not least, what are the implications of the election for China and China-US relations going forward? The remainder of this chapter will focus on these framing questions and discuss the 2016 presidential election through Chinese eyes.