“The Trump administration is very emotional, very wild,” said Zhu Feng, director of international relations at Nanjing University.
But it is hard to say that China would genuinely prefer Biden, either.
Despite pressuring Beijing with a steady drumbeat of punishing policies that have not been seen in 40 years of formal relations under either Republican or Democratic administrations, Trump in some ways has offered Xi a window of opportunity on the world stage and in domestic politics.
Previously under pressure at home from the slowing economy and popular disillusionment with the Chinese Communist Party, Xi has been able to blame Washington’s “suppression” for all of China’s travails while casting himself as a defender against foreign bullying.
Notwithstanding a bruising trade war, China has conceded little on fundamental U.S. demands for greater intellectual property protections and a lesser state role in helping Chinese firms compete.
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