Coverage of the U.S. election suddenly disappeared from the Chinese Communist Party media on November 9, Xi Jinping still has not congratulated Biden on his election, and the Communist Party has been unusually cautious about the final outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Many foreign media outlets were unrelenting, and the November 9 press conference at the CCP’s Foreign Ministry almost turned into a special press conference for various media outlets to pursue questions about the Chinese authorities’ stance on the U.S. election.
In the questions and answers of the press conference published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China (MFA), eight questions were answered on November 9, five questions related to the U.S. election, all of which were asked by foreign media, and the remaining three irrelevant questions were asked by Chinese party media. The Communist Party’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has apparently already been given a hush-order, that is, he refuses to formally acknowledge Biden’s election, and the consideration behind the strange attitude of the Communist Party may reveal a bigger crisis inside and outside the country.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has not formally acknowledged Biden’s election.
CNN’s reporter was the first to ask a direct question: after most of the U.S. media announced Biden’s election as the new president of the United States, many countries have already sent their congratulations to Biden. What is the reason for China’s hesitation, does it feel that the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is still uncertain, or are there other considerations? When will the Chinese send a congratulatory message?
The answer is also straightforward: on the first question, we note that Mr. Biden has been declared a successful candidate. We understand that the results of the election will be determined in accordance with United States law and procedures. On the second question, we will follow international practice.
While the Chinese media could avoid reporting on the U.S. election, the Chinese Foreign Ministry could not, and Wang Wenbin, apparently at the behest of the Communist Party’s top brass, simply declared that he was waiting for “U.S. laws and procedures to make a determination. This was the official Communist Party public statement on the US election, and did not acknowledge Biden’s election.
NBC’s second follow-up question: With U.S.-China relations at an all-time low, what kind of concrete moves does China expect from the new Biden administration to improve relations between the two sides?
Wang Wenbin confirmed for the second time: I have just introduced China’s position on the U.S. presidential election and China-U.S. relations.
Bloomberg’s third follow-up question: after Biden takes office, will China continue to implement the first phase of the U.S.-China economic and trade agreement? Or do you seek to renegotiate the terms with the U.S. side?
Wang Wenbin confirmed for the third time: I have just explained China’s position on the relevant issues. On the China-US economic and trade issues, please ask the Chinese authorities.
Reuters reporter fourth follow-up question: Biden had made statements in the campaign that were unfavorable to China. Now that Biden has won the election, how does China view the impact of his policy agenda on China-U.S. relations?
Wang Wenbin no longer responded directly to Biden’s question, saying only that he hoped the new U.S. administration and China would move in the same direction.
The last three follow-up questions were hypothetical questions about how the Communist Party would respond next if Biden were elected. Wang Wenbin, apparently under strict orders, refused to answer any more questions about Biden’s election.
The Bloomberg reporter finally asked the question in a different way: last month, President Xi Jinping addressed the UN General Assembly’s high-level meeting to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the World Conference on Women in Beijing, calling for the promotion of gender equality. What impact does China think the election of Kamala Harris as the first female Vice-President in United States history will have on the achievement of that goal?
Wang Wenbin replied in Cultural Revolution-style language, “Women can hold up half the sky.”
The Bloomberg reporter did a bit of brainstorming and put Xi Jinping first, and also stopped mentioning Biden and replaced him with Biden’s deputy, Harris, who was elected, still hoping to dig up some dirt. Wang Wenbin has always strictly enforced top-level orders and refused to officially acknowledge the election, whether it was presidential candidate Biden, or vice presidential candidate Harris.
CNN, NBC, Bloomberg, and Reuters, the media outlets that have publicly reported Biden’s election, have not received official confirmation from the Chinese regime, which should be both disappointing and puzzling.
Why the Chinese Communist Party’s top brass won’t acknowledge Biden’s election
The four foreign media outlets that asked successive questions had already declared Biden elected, and they should have known that the Chinese regime expected Biden to be elected, but the CCP’s rare lack of acknowledgement made it impossible for these media outlets to do their articles.
The first question from a CNN reporter was actually quite interesting, “Do you feel that the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is still uncertain, or are there other considerations?” Wang Wenbin actually answered the first question only as ordered by the Chinese top brass, “We understand that the results of the election will be determined in accordance with the laws and procedures of the United States.”
Wang Wenbin actually avoided the second question, whether the Communist Party’s top brass had “other considerations?”
There may be several possibilities for “other considerations” at the top of the Communist Party.
First, the CCP fears that Trump will win his legal battle and be re-elected, which is more likely than not. If the CCP still has to face Trump, congratulating Biden now would be a stink move. The CCP is likely involved in election fraud, knows better, knows full well that it cannot escape a judicial investigation, and at best hopes that it will not be exposed. Once exposed, the evidence of CCP attempts to manipulate US elections is clear, and would be the worst possible outcome.
Secondly, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is deliberately not supporting Biden on the surface in order to cover up its under-the-table dealings.In mid-to-late October, Biden’s scandal with the CCP was repeatedly exposed, with many media outlets, including social media, trying to help Biden cover it up, and the CCP pretending not to know about it at all. The majority of the American public has an antipathy toward the Chinese regime, and if the CCP rushes to acknowledge Biden’s election, it is feared that it will confirm the collusion and possibly invite further investigation. By pretending not to support Biden, but perhaps secretly congratulating him, communicating with him, and continuing to give him gifts in exchange for his disguised appeasement of China, the CCP may be better able to relieve external pressure on Biden and avoid further scandals.
Thirdly, the CCP fears that Trump will be angered and fears a more violent counterattack from Trump. Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a second-tier Communist Party media, just wrote: “Don’t irritate or ridicule Trump at this time so as not to anger him,” and the next two months are “a very dangerous period. This may just be Hu’s guess as to what the Chinese Communist Party’s top brass are thinking, or some kind of advice, and we can’t rule out the possibility that the Communist Party’s top brass will let him off the hook.
Perhaps based on these three concerns, the Communist Party leadership has decided not to recognize Biden’s election for the time being, while it is actually facing a new internal and external crisis.
New internal and external crises are surfacing.
The U.S. election has added to the external crisis of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has to be dealt with cautiously. If Trump is re-elected and the CCP is exposed for its involvement in fraudulent US elections, the outcome can be imagined.
The CCP hierarchy has certainly been hoping that Biden would be able to continue his backroom dealings and that the CCP regime might get a breather. But the CCP’s concealment of the epidemic has not only led to heavy losses in the US, but has also caused serious damage to the rest of the world, and what country can easily give up on recourse? What country’s common people will forget?
Many of the countries that are caught in a serious secondary epidemic are actually waiting for the United States to take the lead or to be able to lead a coalition of accountability. If the United States is unable to take on such a large role, other countries will undoubtedly take on more of the burden, which may be a historic opportunity for them to participate in the construction of a new international configuration.
Europe’s Indo-Pacific strategy will not change, but will only grow deeper. If the role of the United States is weakened, the desire of Asian countries to form alliances to counter Chinese Communist expansion will become stronger; the false partnership between Russia and the Chinese Communist regime will also be meaningless, with mutual rivalries and attempts to control Central Asia, or become the main axis of Sino-Russian relations.
It was the CCP’s concealment of the epidemic that eventually led to a complete reversal between Trump and Xi Jinping, as it did for other countries. The first step taken by Trump also awakened the world to the international isolation of the Communist regime, which in turn led to internal difficulties and contradictions.
Xi Jinping seemingly cleared the hurdle at the Fifth Plenum of the 19th Central Committee, but it was by no means a calm affair; massive unemployment and economic recovery were simply unresolved, finances were severely tightened, and foreign exchange was rapidly shrinking. It has been hard to set the tone that the internal cycle is the main focus, and is being heavily publicized, should the Communist Party top brass confirm Biden’s victory, will they have to adjust back to the external cycle again? If the 180-degree realignment happens soon, will there be more questions within the CCP? Will anyone rehash the blame for the deterioration of U.S.-China relations and the slide into international isolation? Will there be renewed internal recriminations for concealing the epidemic?
Faced with the question of whether or not to recognize Biden’s victory, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is faced with a dilemma. It seems that the top management of the Communist Party has finally seen some hope, but more crises have emerged, and the Communist Party may not be able to sleep.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is on the brink of collapse, and it is unlikely that it will ever be able to reassert itself again. Whether Chinese, Americans, or the rest of the world, we are all in the grip of an irreversible trend. Some people may say that the ultimate choice to decide one’s own destiny or that of others will be determined by the final destiny of each individual, regardless of social class or position.
Recent Comments