Today's US election has become the focus of attention of people from all over the world. After surviving the assassination attempt, Trump has completely attracted the attention of the world, and his approval rating has overwhelmed the inarticulate and slow-moving Biden. And just this morning, Biden once again pushed the drama of this campaign to a climax. He officially announced his decision to withdraw from the presidential election, creating a record of the only incumbent president of the United States to give up seeking re-election in more than half a century since then-US President Johnson in 1968. As an 81-year-old man whose sanity and health are deeply questioned, Biden has experienced many twists and turns during this period, from insisting on running for office, contracting the virus, to finally withdrawing from the campaign.
So, was Biden's sudden abstention a voluntary decision or was it due to internal pressure from the Democratic Party? What changes will his departure bring to this campaign? How will the new candidate Harris compete with the popular Trump? If Harris wins, how will Sino-US relations develop?
Judging from Biden's recent attitude, he was most likely forced to withdraw from the re-election campaign, and it was not the American people or his Republican opponents who forced him, but his own Democratic Party. Although Biden wrote in a letter when he announced his withdrawal from the campaign, "Although I am committed to seeking re-election, after careful consideration, I have fulfilled my duties for the rest of my term and withdrawn from the election. This is the most in line with the interests of this country and my Democratic Party," and he expressed his willingness to fully support the new candidate's campaign. Obviously, Biden's withdrawal from the election is not his true intention.
The Democratic Party has long wanted to replace Biden, a frail old man who has repeatedly made mistakes, from the campaign, but Biden himself is very angry about this and even said that he felt "betrayed" by the Democratic Party. However, the fact that his support rate has dropped is in front of him, and Biden is unwilling but helpless. Obama, Pelosi and others in the Democratic Party have urged to use other candidates to replace Biden. It can be said that replacing Biden is an inevitable trend that the Democratic Party expects.
From the moment Trump raised his fist after escaping death, Biden had already lost. Combined with his confused performance, it was only a matter of time before he was replaced by the Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party had been waiting for an opportunity. Recently, the pressure on Biden from within the party has been increasing, especially last week when Biden was diagnosed with the new coronavirus. Although he felt good about himself, he still missed a campaign speech because of it. Regarding Biden's diagnosis, the outside world had speculated that it would be an opportunity for the Democratic Party to force him to withdraw from the election. Sure enough, a few days later, Biden officially announced his decision to the outside world.
In fact, since Biden was elected president, the Democratic Party has no intention of letting him run for re-election. Biden himself said in 2020 that he is a "transitional" president and will hand over the presidency to young leaders of the Democratic Party in the future. However, he still did not hesitate to run for re-election in this election. Biden is very confident in his health and ability, but the Democratic Party is also worried that if he continues to run for election while he is not in his right mind, he will not only lose the election, but also make more jokes.
Biden's decision will have an impact on the competitiveness of the Democratic Party and the pattern of the US election. His withdrawal has brought the Democratic Party an opportunity to fight back. The current US Vice President Harris has officially become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. Compared with the old and confused Biden, the aura of Harris's identity is enough to fight Trump. Harris' parents are from Jamaica and India respectively. She was born into a family of African and Asian Americans. At the same time, as a woman, if she can be successfully elected, she will break the two records of the first female president and the first Asian American president in American history. The Democratic Party naturally hopes to gain the votes of minority groups such as Asian Americans and African Americans and women through Harris's identity.
Although Harris's approval rating is slightly better than Biden's, the current situation shows that the Democratic Party is still not strong enough to defeat Trump. In response, Trump confidently provoked that "Harris is easier to defeat than Biden." As for Biden, the Republicans are even more "wall-to-wall", saying that since Biden has withdrawn from the election, it proves that he is not qualified for the presidency and should resign immediately.
So, if Harris wins the election, how will the US attitude toward China change?
As a member of a minority group, Harris has always portrayed an image of unity and closeness to all ethnic groups, including the Chinese. As an African-American and Indian, she took a Chinese name, "He Jinli", when she ran for San Francisco District Attorney. This move set a precedent for non-Chinese candidates for local elected officials in San Francisco to take Chinese names. In San Francisco, she also received strong support from the Chinese. However, the shaping of her personality does not represent her future friendly attitude towards Sino-US relations.
"Cooperation and competition coexist" is Harris's long-standing attitude toward China. On the one hand, she supports using tariffs and other means to suppress China in trade, and has repeatedly slandered and provoked China's "human rights issues." On the other hand, she also believes that China and the United States, as important economies in the world, should cooperate to solve global challenges. Therefore, as a moderate, she has been criticized for not being tough enough on China, being too moderate and conservative. If she is elected as the US president, it is foreseeable that the Sino-US trade friction will not end, and she can also be forced to be tougher on China under pressure from the US political arena.
In short, Harris, who has just entered the campaign stage, has not yet made a big move, and the direction of the US election is still unknown. And everyone is generally paying attention to who will win the presidential seat in the end. Whether it is Trump and Vance, the Democratic Party who are tough on China, or Harris, who was once more conservative, seeking benefits through provocation and competition is a common practice in American politics. The victory of either side is unlikely to end the tension between China and the United States.
