Guest Opinion: China stays the course regardless of U.S. election outcome

by Yi Xin
After Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in recent U.S. presidential election, a question has been frequently raised: What will be the impact of the Trump comeback on the already volatile China-U.S. relations?
A review of Trump’s statements during the campaign indicates that the president-elect might push for further economic decoupling from China.
The Biden administration has imposed high tariffs on Chinese products, particularly in the electric vehicle and photovoltaic sectors. The new administration may go further as Trump views higher tariffs as an effective tool to curb China’s technological and economic advancement, proposing tariffs as high as 60 percent on Chinese products.
The Trump administration unilaterally initiated a trade war against China in 2018, a politically motivated and disruptive policy. However, more than five years on, it has become evident that the Trump administration underestimated China’s resilience. The United States continues to import from China despite the high tariffs, as Chinese exports to the United States are largely irreplaceable. This trade war has only served to increase America’s own import costs and exacerbate inflation, resulting in ordinary Americans paying more for their daily shopping.
Will Trump succeed in holding back China this time? The answer is a resounding “No.”
In face of another four years of Trump, China will stay its course and continue to do what is right for the country. The recently concluded third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee has charted the roadmap for China’s future development, a path that China remains committed to.
China will further deepen reforms in a more systematic and integrated manner, enhance the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and strive for Chinese modernization. The third plenary session has set that the timetable-proposed reforms are to be completed by 2029, leading to a high-standard socialist market economy by 2035.
Moreover, China has no strategy to overtake or displace the United States, nor any intention to overthrow the existing order or dominate the world. It would be a strategic miscalculation to assume that a strong country is inevitably driven to seek hegemony. China’s success does not imply a failure for the United States.
The world is changing rapidly with geopolitical conflicts spilling over and economic globalization facing headwinds. Yet, China remains steadfast in its pursuit of unity, openness and cooperation. Major-country confrontation and conflict would be a disaster for all.
No matter how the international landscape evolves, China stays committed to building itself into a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts. China’s development is propelled by its immense internal driving force, which cannot be contained by any external force. The so-called tech war has only served to awaken the Chinese people, galvanizing them to build industrial, economic and financial systems that will not be held back by others.
To quote a Chinese poem about the toughness of the bamboo, “It is strong and firm though struck and beaten without rest; careless of the wind from north or south, east or west.” China will continue on its course towards Chinese modernization by opening more doors, building more bridges, and reaching out to share the benefits of reform and development with the rest of the world.

Editor’s note: Yi Xin is a Beijing-based observer of international affairs.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency.