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Author : A. Dikarev
Leading research associate, Center for East Asian and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies,
Moscow State Institute (University) of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russ-
ian Federation, Candidate of Science (History)
ON THE EVE of the presidential election in the United States, For-
eign Policy ran an extremely interesting article "Why Chinese Elites
Endorse Hillary Clinton," in which the author argued that, despite the
fairly harsh statements of Donald Trump as presidential candidate, as
president he would demonstrate more lenience in his relations with
China than President Hillary Clinton and that, on the other hand, as
president he might contribute to global instability that, in the final
analysis, would do no good to China.
On the whole, however, the Chinese political elite believed that the
risks and uncertainty, two prominent traits of Trump's presidency, out-
weighed all possible favorable factors.
The Chinese political elite want predictability and stability which outweighs its satisfaction with
America's declined interest in Asia. Common people (outside the political and intellectual elites)
are actively monitoring the situation in the United States.
IN THE COURSE of his 2016 presidential campaign, Tramp made frequently contradictory
statements on foreign policy issues. Nevertheless, there was a certain trend in them, including
future relations with China, among other things. The real foreign policy course of the new ad-
ministration, however, turned out to be very different.
Some experts predict, however, that he will make a few strident anti-Beijing military moves in
the area to prove a point and then back off to engage the Chinese economically. There was no
shortage of forecasts since the Chinese policy of Donald Trump looked vague: it was not clear
how he would treat China and what he would expect from it. So far, the prospects are as foggy
as before.
In case of Taiwan, the pendulum suddenly and drastically moved in the direction opposite to
what had been said during the election campaign. "U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday
spurned the Taiwanese president's suggestion that the two leaders hold another phone call, saying
he did not want to create problems for Chinese President Xi Jinping" and would coordinate with
the Chinese leaders all future phone calls between himself and the head of the Taiwan admin-
istration.
Chinese political scientist Yan Xuetung, dean of the Faculty of International Relations, Tsinghua
University, dismissed all attempts to establish constructive relations between China and the
United States as "fake friendship." In his interview, he deemed it necessary to remind that nothing
had changed since 1995 when China announced that from that time on its American policy
Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
Sino-American Relations Under Donald Trump: Time of Changes
or Continued Struggle for Hegemony?