![]() |
Beijing is being careful not to comment in the lead up to the US election day [GALLO/GETTY] |
While the US presidential election hogs the headlines in the West, the Chinese media is just not that interested.
The race is getting coverage of course– daily developments are reported, the head-to-head presidential debates are aired on television news and for a while the media delighted in the ribbing that was dished out to Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential hopeful.
Naturally, the wackier side of the presidential race is always a winner too.
An edition of the China Daily recently ran a curious feature from Xinhua, the state news agency, on two ""purr-fect"" cats from a US feline fanciers' association that were ""chosen"" to represent the presidential candidates.
But what is largely missing are editorials analysing which candidate would be better for Sino-US relations or even which candidate would be better for the US itself.
That may be because US-Sino relations are now so stable that the Chinese government does not care which candidate is elected, says Shen Dingli, the professor of International Relations at Shanghai's Fudan university.
""Neither [presidential] candidate wants to hurt China,"" he tells Al Jazeera.
""Both candidates want to promote US-China relations.""
'Good relations'
![]() |
Issues involving the Dalai Lama are always sensitive for China [AFP] |
Even though ties with the US are China's single most important foreign relationship, it does not matter which candidate takes office as China has the ability to deal effectively with both, he says.
""We were fully able to deal with [US] President [George] Bush, who is not that kind of international politician, and the end result was that his tenure marks the best-respected period for China since the two countries established official ties.""
Official statements from the central government give nothing away.
In the run up to the election, Beijing is careful not to comment unless issues which directly affect it, such as arms sales to Taiwan or audiences with the Tibetan exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, come into play.
For example, in early October, after Washington confirmed it was planning to sell $6.5 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, China made a rare comment on the presidential race that it hoped the two candidates ""will continue to promote good bilateral relations, particularly over the Taiwan issue"".
Public hopes
The Chinese public, though, do care who wins.
And it is Obama who has captured the Chinese imagination as a candidate who represents a fairer US.
An online poll run by the US embassy in Beijing, and published on the China Daily newspaper's website, returned a 75 per cent approval rating for Obama this week, although it did not say how many respondents took part.
""Perhaps his age, energy, and even complexion, which signify the US dream, are more appealing to the Chinese,"" the paper quoted one participant, Song Zhiyuan, as saying.
Sina.com, one of the country's top online portals, has a special US election webpage which, as well as running news stories and editorials (mainly about the effect of the presidential ballot on the global economy), also features a daily chart tracking the candidates' approval ratings and a poll asking readers to predict the winner.
The latest tally has 75 per cent of about 17,500 respondents saying that Obama will win.
""Approachable"" Obama
![]() |
Obama's ""moderate"" foreign policy appeals to Chinese commentators [AP] |
But US-China relations have played a very small part so far in the US presidential race, compared with the elections of their forerunners – George Bush, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan – who all campaigned on a ""Get Tough with China"" platform.
What little has been said is being viewed in China as necessary ""voter speak"" - something the politicians have to say in order to win support at home.
Of those sections of the media which dare to dip their toe in the election debate, the focus is generally on which candidate represents a better chance at cementing Sino-US relations rather than who would do a better job in the White House.
Like the Chinese public, the media – which is state-run or heavily self-censored and so represents, to some extent, official opinion – is weighing slightly more in favour of Obama.
To the Chinese columnist, Obama's key attractions, when compared with McCain, include his anti-Iraq war stance – he represents a less aggressive US - and his more ""approachable"" foreign policy.
""Obama represents a moderate stance in international relations and this will cement more confidence and breathe life into the US economy,"" Xu Kaibin from NFDaily.cn writes.
""And this in turn will promote a recovery in the global economy.""
However McCain, Xu writes, is more hawkish, pro-Iraq war and older. He is not going to help the economy recover in the near future, Xu writes.
And as for Bush and his legacy, Xu Jin of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is scathing.
""Bush is just a US version of an emperor,"" he says.
|