As GOP candidate Donald Trump edged closer to securing a second term, Chinese social media exploded with discussions, with one netizen dubbing the development "Season 2."
Trump, who declared victory early Wednesday morning local time, is only the second person in U.S. history, after Grover Cleveland, to win a second non-consecutive term.
At the time of writing, he had captured 277 electoral votes compared to Vice President Kamala Harris's 224, needing 270 to secure the presidency. Trump garnered 71,571,943 votes, or 51 percent of the popular vote, while Harris received 66,512,020, or 47.4 percent.
Chinese netizens have raptly followed the election, the outcome of which will impact China's primary trading partner and top geopolitical rival.
"Trump declares victory" was the top-trending topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with 380 million views, 90,000 comments, and 710,000 engagements. U.S. election-related hashtags dominated half of the trending topics on the app.
One netizen commented, "The first season ends. Can you cut off the dog food before the second season begins?"
As for the "second season" of the Trump "show," the Weibo user continued: "As long as Trump participates, there will be drama. Whether he's a qualified leader is debatable, but he's definitely a circus performer who never lets the audience get bored."
Some Chinese users viewed Trump's win with skepticism about the implications for U.S.-China relations.
"Both [candidates] are unfriendly to China, both are old rivals. It's really the same for everyone," one Weibo user said.
Others expressed caution about the potential for conflict. "At least don't fight and respect our territory," one wrote, possibly alluding to Taiwan, a self-ruled island China claims as its own, while the U.S. is its primary arms supplier. Another netizen added, "I hope the United States will stand on the right side of history and meet China halfway."
Some users commented on Trump's business persona and his "outsider" approach to politics. "Trump has a pure businessman mentality and is very strong on the economy, but he won't care about anything that isn't profitable," one user remarked.
One jokingly posed a hypothetical history exam question in reference to the assassination attempt on Trump this summer, "22nd Century History Entrance Exam: What is the far-reaching impact of the historical event that occurred on July 13, 2024, when a bullet in Pennsylvania only hit Trump's ear?"
Asked about the election and the potential impacts on U.S.-China relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters on Wednesday, "China has always been consistent in its policy toward the U.S. and will continue to view and handle China-U.S. relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation."
Newsweek reached out the Chinese Foreign Ministry with written requests for comment.
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