Trump presidency poses economic challenge to China, but Sino-US ties will be unaffected, says state media

China’s official state media say Donald Trump becoming the next US president will pose an economic challenge for Beijing in areas such as trade and currency, but the general pattern of Sino-US ties will not be affected.

The Liaowang Institute, a think-tank affiliated with Xinhua news agency, said in a report that, judging by the content of Trump’s presidential campaign speeches, his China policy would focus more on economic opportunities, rather than security challenges.

Trump would prioritise economic ties and introduce harsh measures such as tax imports, or even file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation, if he believed China was dumping or subsidising its products, the report said.

It also predicted that the next US government was very likely to brand China as a currency manipulator, or introduce protectionist measures, such as hefty punitive tariffs.

Trump’s public preference for low interest rates might ease depreciation pressures on the renminbi, but would “undoubtedly make any economic rebound in China more difficult” and cause commodity prices to rise and bring additional inflationary pressure to China.