Donald Trump and his administration have always had a strained, complicated, and fickle relationship with the People’s Republic of China. More often than not, he would claim that Covid-19 was all their fault, putting the blame on their country, its government, and citizens. Some even worried that there may even be a cold war between the first and second most powerful countries in the world, due to their tense relationship with each other in the not so distant future, if Trump remains president. Biden, on the other hand, has a fairly decent and respectable connection with China. Why do Trump and many of his officials detest China? Are they afraid of being surpassed, losing their position as the global superpower? After all, China’s economy is growing almost three times faster than that of America. But why would Biden and his administration have a much better association with the foreign nation than the Republicans?

 

Over the past few months, it has been a whirlwind of news surrounding the Hunter Biden “Laptop from Hell” allegations. Right-wing Trump supporters are saying that Joe Biden and his son pose as a national security risk, dealing illegally with the Chinese Communist Party, the Ukrainian government, and going as far as claiming that there was child pornography on Hunter Biden’s laptops. This statement is an entirely false accusation, as there is no concrete evidence to back it up, and the claims are originated from an anonymous internet forum, a commonly known source of misinformation. 

 

Trump is using this to spark controversy himself, as the last trick up his sleeve, while Joe Biden races towards his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and a transition of power to the Democrats. Although the Biden campaign has already won, according to The Associated Press, and now has been confirmed by electors and Vice President Mike Pence, with 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232, and 81 million popular votes, 7 million more than the Republican incumbent candidate, the Trump administration refuses to concede. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration” even as world leaders, including Justin Trudeau of Canada; Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister and a close ally of Trump; the leaders of South Korea, Germany, Japan, France; and President Xi Jin-ping of China, have all congratulated Biden for his win, among many others. 

 

Despite all this, the Trump administration continued to file lawsuit after lawsuit, claiming election fraud, almost all of them coming back unsuccessful, and inculpating the Biden family of illegal business with major companies in China and Ukraine. Hunter Biden was accused of setting deals and making money with his family name, and his father’s occupation, especially while the President-elect was Barack Obama’s Vice President. An advisor from a Ukrainian company had thanked Hunter Biden for inviting him to meet his father, but there is no hard evidence to back up these allegations, and nothing was proven. 

 

Although Trump harshly criticizes Biden for his connections with China, and and accuses the Biden family of making money off of China when they shouldn’t, Trump also makes quite a bit of money from the Number 2 country himself. He claims that he doesn’t make any, but he has collected millions of dollars from government-owned companies, at least 5.4 million, as Forbes estimates, and also has been exposed to having a secret bank account there. So the ethical question is: is it right for both parties to be making money from a foreign country? 

 

It is certainly legal for Hunter Biden to make deals with companies in China and Ukraine, as there is no law that says you cannot, no doubt about that. Despite this, the more right-wing part of society continues to accuse that he made his income using his father’s name, so China can essentially bribe America to cooperate less with the Trump Administration, and more with Biden, once he becomes president. This, however, is not entirely true, as many of Hunter Biden’s contracts were signed before Trump took over the Executive Branch of the US Government, and once again, there is no evidence to prove Trump’s accusations as true. Furthermore, if it were true, Biden is not the only one favouring his family, as Trump is also generally known as a nepotist, giving his children and relatives executive positions in his company and team. 

 

On January 6, Biden was confirmed as the next president by the House and Senate, after a violent mob breached the congress buildings on Capitol Hill. A group of Trump supporters had originally gathered outside the gates in a peaceful protest against the results of the 2020 election. But things took a dark turn, with a group of those protesters storming inside, into the Senate and House chambers, as well as the offices of the members of congress, looking through their paperwork and private email inboxes. Unfortunately, guns were also fired, resulting in the death of an army veteran, and four others who passed away due to medical emergencies. 

 

After this turn of events, for the worse, many citizens and officials in China began to scorn the protesters and spoke of America as a whole with disdain. Chinese officials called out Trump for having “double standards”, while netizens shunned and dissed the Trump Administration, and especially so, after Trump’s “Don’t ask me, ask China” statement regarding the current Coronavirus pandemic; Chinese internet users shunning and insulting Republicans and Americans alike have been rising on an upward trend for many of the past months. America’s overall image has taken a hit, and people across the globe have begun to say that Trump “destroyed democracy” or “broke the GOP (Republican Grand Old Party)”. 

 

When Vice President Mike Pence condemned the rioters on Capitol Hill, and after he announced Biden the winner of the 2020 U.S. election, Trump and many of his supporters accused Pence of “betraying” his boss and his loyal supporter base. Trump said that “He stabbed me in the back”, referring to Pence declaring Joe Biden as the winner of the Electoral College. In my opinion, I don’t think speaking the will of the people counts as stabbing someone in the back, even if the choice of the citizens is not your party. I think it is important to accept failure and loss and speak the truth, instead of trying to come up with false accusations and lawsuits, suing states and trying to overturn the votes of the swing states that didn’t go for you in the end. Both candidates are supposed to honor the Constitution, and nowhere in it does it state that one may force a state’s Electoral College vote from blue to red, and vice versa. 

 

In the eyes of many Chinese citizens, seeing how America’s picture was affected negatively by the mobs at Capitol Hill, it is a golden opportunity to get closer to their goal of surpassing the U.S., and becoming the Number 1 country in the world. In many elementary and middle schools of China, less often in University, although not entirely non-existent, many teachers would paint America as a less bright picture than it actually is, telling the young students that people have too much freedom there, which leads to violent mobs and gatherings, and the incident at Capitol Hill only fuels these incorrect claims. Teachers would also only reveal the worst sides of democratic countries to their young students, and only the best historical events and parts about China. 

 

Those young students who have spent years hearing about how bad America is, grow up to become trapped in these beliefs, and now with proof of the “brutal riots'' they heard about from their school years, such as the one on Capitol Hill, they have also been lead to believe that movements such as LGBTQ+ rights marches and peaceful Black Lives Matter protests are also examples of the corrupted and chaotic society of the United States. By default, they pin the blame on the president and his administration, who also have spoken of the Chinese with disdain, which stokes their anger and resentment even more. 

 

Under the Obama Administration, the relationship between China and the U.S. was less tense and generally better overall. The Chinese have always thought of Obama as a highly respected figure and principled leader who strengthened ties between their country and America. As Joe Biden was his Vice President, he shares traits and values with his former boss, and since Chinese citizens think highly of Obama, they also support Biden. 

 

In just a few days, Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be inaugurated, and he and his team will transition into the seat of power, and into the White House. He has made many promises that he will fulfill once in office, along with many things to fix, such as the economy, strained relationships with foreign nations, climate change, and most importantly, health care and support for those suffering from the current pandemic. I hope that China and America can work alongside other countries, to make a positive impact on a global scale, together, and to be remembered as admired figures who made the world a better place. I think that with the right leaders making the right decisions, both countries can exist in harmony and friendship. Biden and his team now bear a large weight on their shoulders, but little by little, I believe that they can achieve their goals both for America, and for the entire world.