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Chinese public’s eyes turn to US election as Americans in country face nervous wait

Election-related topics have attracted tens of millions of views on domestic social media amid the anticipated tight contest

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The US embassy in Beijing has invited members of the public to watch the results come in on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
Dewey Sim,Hayley Wongin BeijingandSylvie Zhuangin Beijing
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For those in China closely following the US election, most of the coverage of the closing stages has steered clear of the dramatic and sensational elements in favour of a more measured, fact-based approach.

Meanwhile, US diplomatic missions have been reaching out to engage members of the public with a series of election-related events as ordinary Americans living in China express their concerns about what it means for the future regardless of who they want to win.

With almost all the polls predicting a very close race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, much of the reporting in the domestic Chinese media has stuck to purely factual matters such as timings and polling numbers.

But other reports have been more pointed, highlighting the increasingly tense atmosphere and fears of violence or contentious subjects such as immigration.

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State news agency Xinhua specifically zeroed in on the latter in a report on Monday, saying that both parties have played the “immigration card” and “scapegoated” illegal immigrants.

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