We Should Not Tolerate Mockery of China in U.S. Electoral Campaigns

Locked in a fierce U.S. election battle, Romney and Obama are apparently competing to see who can be harder on China. Romney led off by saying that on his “first day in office” he would punish the Chinese. Not wanting to be outdone, Obama recently filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the Chinese automobile industry, vying with Romney over votes by causing more problems for China.

U.S. elections bring misfortune for China, a story which has played itself out many times before, but this year it seems that Romney and Obama are upping the ante. The U.S. economy’s psoriasis-like chronic unemployment problem is irrationally being blamed on China, with the Chinese economy being called a “vampire” sweeping away the livelihoods of Americans. Friction in trade between the two nations will certainly intensify due to this year’s election, and their political mutual suspicion will most likely grow deeper.

How forgiving Chinese people must be, to endure and accustom themselves to the sewage constantly spilling over from the U.S. elections! The candidates are becoming increasingly brash, paying no heed to how we feel when we hear such vitriol. Our reticence has spoiled them.

China should not allow such blatant mockery in the U.S. election battle, especially down the final stretch. Regardless of whether it is the current president or his challenger, they should maintain a modicum of respect towards China. They should be more careful of what they say instead of shooting their mouths off.

Romney has heavily criticized China, some of his comments sounding as if they came straight from the mouths of angry youth on the Internet and clearly lacking substance. If he were to really do as he claims he will after the election, he would be an extremely nationalistic president on Chinese trade issues and would completely disrupt commerce between the U.S. and China. Looking at the tired state of the U.S. economy at present, that kind of war of attrition in trade is one which it simply cannot afford to wage.

Going to these extremes in painting China as a target for their campaigns illustrates the growing duplicity and lack of responsibility in U.S. elections and is going far overboard. Experience shows that the majority of angry talk directed at China during U.S. presidential elections cannot be put into practice, but what they are saying now and the campaign ads that are being broadcast truly raise the ire of Chinese people.

We do not know whether or not we should just treat Romney and Obama continually raising the stakes on attacking China as some kind of circus. We probably should not, as their overblown speeches are misleading the American people. Untruths repeated several times begin to appear as fact, and Americans will further complain about, or even hate China. All of this will come back and fuel the feeling of confrontation with the U.S. within Chinese society.

Following the buildup of mutual dissatisfaction between the U.S. and China, who can say that the excessive saber-rattling in these elections will forever be only an act? The origins of many vicious international conflicts can be traced back to the bluffs of politicians.

Since the U.S. election has involved China to this extent, China should not continue to stay out of the affair as an ordinary onlooker. We should speak out and with a clearly-defined approach, “get involved” in the U.S. election, correcting the candidates’ and the American people’s rhetoric and behavior towards China.

The U.S. election should not continue as a platform for wantonly demonizing China. It should at the very least become a field of competition for different attitudes towards China. As the election has brought Americans’ concentrated attention onto China, we should work to influence the direction and content of that interest.

Of course, this will not be easy, but neither it is impossible as long as we do not simply sit without complaint and accept whatever the two candidates say about us.