China focuses on threat of unrest as US voters head to polls

Jenny Tang for RFA Mandarin

Read coverage of this topic in Chinese

As American voters head to the polls on Tuesday, “U.S. election” has emerged as a hot search topic on China’s Weibo, with official media mostly focusing on preparations for potential violence and unrest in Washington.

Using the hashtags “#Stores nail up windows ahead of US election#” and “#Iron mesh installed on U.S. streets in case of post-election riots#,” state broadcaster CCTV reported on security measures in Washington ahead of the elections.

“Many stores near the White House have boarded up their windows,” the station said in a report that headed up search results for “U.S. election” on Weibo on Tuesday, while other media reports focused on “crazy levels” of spending on campaigns.

Throughout the campaign, Chinese state media has been hammering home Beijing’s claim that American democracy is messy, violent and inferior to the Chinese authoritarian system, which it dubs “whole process democracy.”

(China, in fact, does not have a free, democratic process that reflects popular will, where candidates would face intense public scrutiny as in the United States. President Xi Jinping was given a third term last year in a unanimous vote by the nation’s rubber stamp assembly, putting him on track to stay in power for life).

China’s messaging on the U.S. election intensified on social media on voting day Tuesday, while ordinary Chinese still seemed to support Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in roughly equal measure.

ChinaNews.com ran a three-minute propaganda video complete with a warring cartoon donkey and elephant that was widely picked up by media accounts across the country.

“As the 2024 US election day approaches amid a hurricane disaster, the Republicans and Democrats fight each other and ignore the needs of the people, staging attempts to win over the public amid verbal promises and mutual accusations,” it said in the post accompanying the video.

“All the while, lives are hanging in the balance, and the people are being torn apart by partisan disputes,” the video said.

“The American people are living in dire straits,” commented Weibo user @old_gun from the eastern province of Shandong under the video, while @DelicateDiceShadow replied: “Maybe the U.S. doesn’t feel like it’s in dire straits.”

Campaign drama

While criticism of China’s situation was muted by strict online censorship, some spoke about “irony,” with @LiYuyu in northern Shanxi province apparently commenting sarcastically on economic hardship in China: “The Chinese people are so well off and happy, with their per capita income…”

While some social media comments claimed not to care about the outcome of Tuesday’s vote, many more have been glued to the campaign for the sheer drama, with some likening the democratic process to “a talent show,” and one comment saying they hoped to see “blood running on Capitol Hill” in the event of a Harris victory.

A brief survey of key social media sites by Radio Free Asia found that online comments appeared to show roughly similar levels of support for Harris and Trump.

One user said they wanted a Trump victory, citing the former president’s connection with Tesla founder Elon Musk, who has factories in China.

“Musk is more rational, has factories in China, and is more friendly [to China],” they wrote, while another comment argued that the last Trump administration had started a trade war with China. “It seems that many forget the pain once their scars have healed,” wrote a Harris supporter.

Some saw a Trump victory as an opportunity for China on the world stage, with one comment saying that “China only has a chance if the Western alliance collapses,” while a Harris supporter said the more “confused” Trump appeared to be, the better.

Political commentator Willy Lam said the ruling Chinese Communist Party is keen to play up the negative aspects of a democratic system.

“The party and government in China have always kept very tight controls on public opinion, and any comments praising American democracy will be deleted immediately,” Lam told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview.

“The central government narrative is using this election to show how the American democratic system has plenty of shortcomings, doesn’t really represent the will of American voters, and is still controlled by powerful groups from behind the scenes,” he said.

‘Vilify’ democracy

Xia Ming, professor of politics at New York’s City University, said propaganda chief Wang Huning would be looking to push Beijing’s United Front messaging on the election, emphasizing bipartisan discord and portraying American democracy as in “a life-and-death struggle,” rather than as a natural part of life on the campaign trail.

“He will want to exaggerate the debates and arguments that are normal within the American democratic system to … make it seem as if the United States is heading for a fall, with no hope left for it,” Xia said. “The main purpose is to completely obliterate the value of democracy, which is all about quarrels, so he can say how [China] is harmonious.”

Xia said Beijing wants people to believe that “messy” Western democracy isn’t as good as the “full process democracy” that Communist Party leader Xi Jinping claims exists in China.

“They want to make sure the Chinese people never truly understand the operating logic behind American democracy,” he said.

Lam said that it makes little difference to Beijing which candidate is victorious, as there is little to choose between them in terms of China policy.

“China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea all have unflattering and sarcastic views on the U.S. election,” Lam said. “Their main goal is to vilify the democratic system.”

Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie.