Global Impact | As the dust settles on Trump’s win, what’s in store for US-China relations?

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Ahead of the US election, the world was bracing itself for a long, uncertain period during which America might descend into violence as a power struggle between two candidates and their political parties played out.

A landslide, the pollsters said, was possible, and with many polls putting Vice-President Harris slightly ahead – averages compiled by The New York Times put her at 49 per cent compared with Trump’s 48 per cent on the eve of Election Day – it appeared that Trump would be more likely to get buried in that scenario. But Trump pulled off a decisive victory against Harris, proving again that polls can be flawed.

World leaders reacted quickly, some even as election night results were still pouring in. President Xi Jinping sent Trump a congratulatory message soon after Harris conceded defeat.

Compare that with US President Joe Biden’s win against Trump in 2020, when Xi waited 17 days after that contest was called to send a similar message. The key difference, of course, was that Trump refused to concede that election, and has never deviated from false assertions that the contest was stolen.

Seeking to gain favour with Trump and his key advisers, Canada’s deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, highlighted her country’s tougher approach to Chinese exports, telling reporters in Ottawa that the Canadian government shares the same concerns as Trump’s team with China’s “intentional policy of overcapacity”.