With both parties viewing Beijing primarily as a strategic competitor, Chinese officials expect bumpy times ahead no matter who is in the White House.
HONG KONG — One is a former president who vows to double down on the trade war he started with China but could stoke global instability to Beijing’s benefit. The other is a vice president who might be more conciliatory in the short term but could rally U.S. allies against China’s growing global influence.
Which U.S. presidential candidate would Chinese President Xi Jinping rather work with?
Whoever wins the White House next month — former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris — will determine the tone and much of the substance of the relationship between the world’s two largest economies.
Xi has not expressed any preference for the outcome of the Nov. 5 election, with his Foreign Ministry calling it an internal U.S. affair.
