China calls for ‘peaceful co-existence’ after Trump win

Beijing is preparing for a tariff assault that businesses say will be terrible for China’s economy, while Donald Trump’s Chinese ‘liberal’ supporters are elated.

People watch television coverage of the US presidential election at a bar in Shanghai on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

China said it hoped for “peaceful co-existence” with the US as Beijing prepared for a tariff ­assault under next president Donald Trump that businesses say will be terrible for its economy.

“We will continue to approach and handle China-US relations based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win co-operation,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing late on Wednesday, in the first comments by the Chinese government on the election result. “Our policy toward the United States has been consistent,” she added.

Ms Mao did not comment directly on Mr Trump’s re-election, but said “the United States presidential election is an internal affair of the United States”.

“We respect the choice of the American people,” she said. “After the US election results are released and officially announced, we will handle related matters in accordance with usual practice,” she added when asked if Chinese President Xi Jinping would call Mr Trump to congratulate him.

The US election was closely watched in China. Several topics related to Mr Trump’s election were among the top trending on the X-like Weibo platform.

“Trump, congratulations! Focus on building your beautiful country and stop thinking about interfering with other countries,” one comment read.

China’s leader Xi Jinping tried to project strength – both to Washington and his domestic audience – by visiting the People’s Liberation Army Air Force the day ­before the vote, urging his troops to make “all-out efforts in training and combat preparedness”.

Separately, his deputy, Chinese Premier Li Qiang on election eve told business leaders and foreign dignitaries at China’s most important trade show that Beijing would defend the global trading system despite the “backlash against globalisation”.

However, business figures in China spoke with anxiety about a potential Trump victory. One employee at a Chinese ­import-export business said her firm was one of many highly exposed to Mr Trump’s threat to impose tariffs of 60 per cent or higher on China.

“It would be terrible,” she told The Australian, while refreshing the latest numbers in the US election count on her phone.

She said Kamala Harris would also have been troublesome for Beijing, as the Democrat candidate would continue Biden administration policies that had disrupted China’s tech sector.

But she feared Mr Trump would be much worse for the Chinese economy, which was already slowing because of a years-long, national property slump.

Mr Trump had a wide supporter base among the country’s pro-democracy group, often called Chinese “liberals”.

Those Chinese Trump supporters were euphoric on Wednesday, saying the Republican’s win would stop America following a ­European path.

“All of Harris’s positions are very un-American and very European – big government, high taxes, high welfare, market regulation, skin-colour politics, legal marijuana, open immigration, LGBT, excessive cultural diversity,” one Trump fan in China told The Australian.

In a striking example of Trump’s fan base in action, shares soared on Wednesday in a listed software company Sichuan, whose name sounds like “Trump winning” in Chinese.

”Who wouldn’t thought that stocks unrelated to the US or Trump would be used by people in China to show their support for him?” said Manya Koetse, editor of WhatsOnWeibo, a website that tracks trends in Chinese social media.

As the election dissection began in America, Chinese policymakers continued a week-long meeting in Beijing that was ­expected to approve the country’s largest fiscal package since the pandemic.

China’s government will use the package to attempt to reassure international investors about the country’s economic outlook as a heightened trade war with Washington looks increasingly likely.

Analysts had said China would need to spend more than $2 trillion over the next three years to resuscitate its slowing economy. Some had speculated that Trump‘s victory might lead Beijing to increase the size of the fiscal stimulus package. Details were expected to be released on Friday and were likely to include efforts to help local governments address debt problems.

Despite China’s economic troubles, Trade Minister Don Farrell said its huge market still presented massive growth potential for Australian businesses. On Wednesday, a record number of Australian businesses presented at the China International Import Expo, the world’s biggest trade show.