Hope and anxiety hang over Asia — and north Asia in particular — ahead of Tuesday’s U. S. midterm election. President Donald Trump has shaken up Asia, as he has much of the world. Now Beijing, Seoul and other Asian capitals are waiting to see if the Democrats wrest
Hope and anxiety hang over Asia — and north Asia in particular — ahead of Tuesday’s U. S. midterm election.
President Donald Trump has shaken up Asia, as he has much of the world. Now Beijing, Seoul and other Asian capitals are waiting to see if the Democrats wrest control of at least one house of Congress from the Republicans — and whether that would significantly alter U. S. foreign policy and trade initiatives.
In South Korea, the concern is that Trump might sour on North Korea after months of bold engagement. For China, the hope is he might be forced to ease off on trade. A look at how the election is being watched in China, South Korea and Japan:
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While the Chinese public does not focus much on U. S. congressional elections in most years, it is now, thanks to Trump’s policies toward China, said Yu Wanli, an expert on U. S. studies at Beijing Language and Culture University.
“People are hoping that the result of the election could change China-U. S. relations,” Yu said.
The world’s two biggest economies have been throwing escalating import tariffs at each other since March, unnerving global markets. Trump accuses Beijing of trying to steal U. S. intellectual property and unfairly protecting its domestic market and state-run companies.
Speaking at the United Nations in September, Trump even alleged Beijing was seeking to meddle in the midterm election, saying it doesn’t want the Republicans to do well because of his hard line on trade. Trump did not provide evidence for his allegation, which was rejected on the spot by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
There’s hope in China that a political setback for Trump could soften some of his policies toward Beijing. But Su Hao, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, said a Democratic victory wouldn’t bring fundamental changes to Trump’s policies on China beyond a level of containment.
