The first time that Chairman Mao held a historic meeting with the US Republican, he said that he is always happy anytime the “rightists” ascend to power.
Four decades have gone by since that historic meeting and China is now watching another rightist on the rise. This rightist is Donald Trump, who has said he loves China while at the same time has blamed it for the economic woes that America experiences.
Most Chinese view the wealthy New York billionaire as an inspiration instead of an antagonist.
Even before Trump said that he would run for the US election, his name was already well known in China.
Trump Consulting is in the Helen province of China and has nothing to do with Donald Trump. Via its website, it says that its inspiration is drawn from the property empire of the Republican presidential aspirant.
There is another company in southern China that is referred to as Shenzhen Trump Industries which focuses on production of smart toilet seats as well as bathroom fixtures. There is also Trump Electronics in eastern Anhui Province that has been making air purifiers since 1996.
Ivanka Trump, Trump’s daughter, has over 14, 000 fans on Sina Weibo. There is also a Trump Weibo fan page that talks about everything to do with Trump.
Worries the whole world
There is no opinion poll that can be fully relied on exposing how the comments made by Trump are received in China. But the state media has a keen eye on him.
A recent Xinhua report said his rise showed “the limitations of the ‘democracy’ that Americans have long boasted about”.
After Trump became victorious in the Super Tuesday, the state owned media ran a piece in which it said that it was proof the US voters “were tired of Washington politics.”
“It is probably on this point that Chinese public finds Trump somewhat more agreeable,” wrote Ai Jun.
In addition to that he said that the Chinese public would under normal circumstances be against “an arrogant, hawkish candidate like Trump.”
Last week, the newspaper went further, issuing a stern warningthat “the rise of a racist in the US political arena worries the whole world”.
It advised the U.S. should be keen on itself not to be the source of destroying the peace in the world.
Not a bad president
Most Chinese on the internet are of the opinion that the media is being unfair on Trump.
“He tore down the hypocritical masks of many Americans,” says Weibo user Clairvoyance Card. “Every sentence he said is true, but they are not all pleasant to hear.”
He is usually down-to-earth whenever he meets the voters and this appeal to most of them considering that the politicians in the country tend to be remote and rarely interact with the citizens at rallies.
Mr. Li adds that US politics has always been likened to a theatre and eventually rational politics will surpass rhetoric.
He says that in case Trump wins, his access to information, good counsel and smartness may imply he will make good decisions.
