Asia ties crucial for Beijing against ‘provocative’ Trump-led US, Chinese scholar warns

Jia Qingguo says China would prefer the winning US candidate to be from the incumbent’s party due to ‘policy continuity’

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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at an event in Chicago. Photo: AP

Published: 8:45pm, 16 Oct 2024Updated: 8:09am, 17 Oct 2024

If former US president Donald Trump were to win next month’s election, China could expect a “race to the bottom” with high tariffs and “provocative actions” from its superpower rival, said a former dean at the prestigious Peking University, while stressing that Beijing should continue to cultivate strong ties with its Asian neighbours.

Jia Qingguo, who previously headed Peking University’s international relations school, said the presidential race in the US on November 5 was as “unpredictable” as the 2020 contest.

“If Trump wins, then we’ll see a [repeat of the situation] between China and the US during his last time in office – a race to the bottom, high tariffs and also very provocative actions like taking a phone call from [former Taiwanese leader] Tsai Ing-wen or [sending US] secretaries of state to visit Taiwan,” he said.

Jia was giving a lecture at the S.T. Lee Distinguished Annual Lecture in Singapore on Wednesday on how the coming US election could affect the superpower’s relationship with China and Southeast Asia.

His comments come after China staged a day of war games around Taiwan to send a warning against “separatist acts” earlier this week, a move which drew condemnation from Taiwan and the US.

Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province that should be reintegrated into mainland control, by force if necessary. While many nations, including the US, do not officially acknowledge Taiwan as an independent state, they oppose any use of force to alter the status quo.