Hillary recently announced her bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential candidacy. As someone who was a first lady, a senator, the secretary of state and having had other glamorous titles, she seems to have unparalleled advantage to her competitors. The support for Hillary is high and her announcement has led to an online stampede.
Hillary running for the president at the advanced age of 67 is, in an optimistic view, a way to show her courage, beliefs and ambitions. If she were elected, history would be rewritten, just like Obama who was elected to be the first Black American president. Her victory would leave an indelible and stunning imprint for women in American politics.
The election for the next American president is a domestic issue. Chinese net citizens are concerned if President Hillary would make trouble for China. A poll on Huanqiu.com showed that 95 percent of Chinese net citizens dislike Hillary. Hillary is definitely a troublemaker to Chinese online readers. Most web commentators are worried that if she were elected, she would persecute China and that China-US relations would enter a deep freeze.
Foreign media has questioned Hillary’s hawkish stand, about whether she would continue her particular type of intrepid and inflexible style and maybe create more conflict with China. One American web site claimed that aggressive pragmatism would open the door to more conflict with China. The web site for the Japanese magazine The Diplomat joked that 2016 would be China’s nightmare.
Foreign press has said that Hillary does not understand why her reputation in China is not great. Actually, one’s reputation is not ruined by others’ words but one’s own actions. People are not likely to forget that Hillary began the rebalancing of power in the Asia-Pacific, the way she connected the South China Sea issue with America’s national security, how she disrespected China and its core interests, or her making accusations about human rights in China. When she visited other countries, she also blatantly attacked China.
The worry over whether Hillary would become president would create a negative impact on the China-US relationship, make one verbally abusive, and dampen one’s own spirits as well as show a lack of confidence. Pinning hope on an U.S. president who is beneficial to China is naive. The Americans are electing their own president; even the best president for China would put American interests first, not to mention that American politics have always maximized their own self-interests. Hoping the American president would care about China’s interests is like asking the tiger for her hide.
America has been the ruler of the world for the past 100 years and has gained a lot of conveniences and interests as a result. This is a position that every American administration dreams of maintaining and developing, so America will continue to polarize and fragment the few opponents it has, primarily China and Russia. The so-called freedom and democracy is just an excuse to polarize and mystify its opponents.
When Obama claimed America would be on top for another 100 years, it was not an impulsive claim; it was tied to America’s national interests. America wants to dominate the world by confronting Russia and oppressing and curbing China’s rise. No matter who’s in power in America, this will not change. One hundred new presidents would not change America’s stance toward China.
If Hillary were elected, American foreign policy would be deeply branded with her own personal imprint. She would use secret weapons on issues of the South China Sea, the Diaoyu Islands, Taiwan and other core Chinese interests.
As a shrewd politician, it is unlikely that she would be too extreme. None of the myriad international problems facing America would be solved without Chinese cooperation. If America made trouble for China, it would not be unscathed either. The diplomatic situation of “fighting and not hurting” would stay for a long time. If Hillary were elected, this would still be the case. Hurting the enemy means hurting oneself too. Europe siding with America in sanctions against Ukraine is a prime example of this reasoning.
President Xi Jinping has said, “China and America can forge a new path, unlike the historical precedent of big nation confrontations.”
He also said, “As long as both sides are determined and confident, patient and wise, focus on the big picture as well as the details, we can make this happen. Otherwise, it’ll be like the Kazakh proverb, ’blowing out someone else’s lamp burns off one’s own whiskers.’” American voters would not elect someone who does not understand this simple logic.
Is it necessary to agonize over who will be the next American president? If Hillary is elected, China will not be crushed. China should focus on its own path; empowering ourselves is the key. No matter what happens, there is a way. If America can seek a common ground with China and grow with us, we would extend a warm welcome, but if not, we would not be afraid either.
Author is a special commentator at huanqiu.com
You wrote: “The so-called freedom and democracy is just an excuse to polarize and mystify its opponents.” Freedom and democracy are at the core of America’s beliefs. All people of the world aspire and deserve this. Russia and China are out of step and will never have great civilizations without their own people living in freedom and democracy under the rule of law.