China has reacted nervously to Donald Trump’s inauguration, with one state-controlled media outlet warning of “dramatic changes” and “fires” being lit by the new US administration.
International relations experts in China suggested the time had come for Beijing to make preparations for a sharp deterioration in relations with Washington.
Mr Trump frequently
hit out at China during his campaigning, branding the Beijing government “currency manipulators” and implicitly threatening a
trade war.
His inauguration speech did not directly reference the country, but he spoke about foreign industries being “enriched” at the expense of American jobs.
The future of China-US relations in Trump era
Speaking about the inauguration of Mr Trump, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Sino-American ties “have had their ups and downs, but they have continued to move forward”.
She maintained they would “push forward from this new starting point to make greater progress".
However, other state-sanctioned voices were more alaeming.
“Frictions between the US and its allies, and trade tensions between the US and China seem inevitable within the four years ahead,” said an editorial by the
Global Times, a pro-government tabloid newspaper with a reputation for populist rhetoric.
Trump's Sharp Warnings for China
Adding that “dramatic changes” were on the way, the newspaper continued: “The Trump administration will be igniting many ‘fires’ on its front door and around the world. Let's wait and see when it will be China's turn.”
Chinese experts on their country’s relations with the US appeared equally bleak about the future.
“A trade war between China and the US seems inevitable,” Pang Zhongying, of Renmin University, told the
South China Morning Post.
“Beijing should make some worst-case scenario planning, even though the development may not be as bad as we have expected.”
International relations professor Yu Xiang said Mr Trump’s speech was “aggressive” as he urged the Chinese government "not to underestimate the challenges and difficulties we will be facing in Sino-US relations".
Other analysts thought increasing economic and trading difficulties could cause instability and security problems in the Asia-Pacific region.
The possibility of a real conflict was also hinted at by the
China Daily, which said this would “only create more defence orders for local companies”.
It argued that an economic clash could benefit China in some ways and not be in the interest of the US. “Trade wars backfire easily, especially for a more advanced economy,” the
Daily’s editorial said.
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