U.S. – China Relations Post Election

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Politically there was not much change from the results of last night’s US election.  Obama remains to be president, the Democratic Party held its majority in the Senate, and the Republicans maintained their majority control of the House of Representatives. While the United States was embroiled in a deep tough campaign season, it is important to note that another country with some big economic is about to undergo a political transformation. The 18th Communist Party Congress will convene on Wednesday where its party leaders will determine who will lead to world’s second largest economy.

This is important to watch, for it leads many to question how relations between the U.S. and China change will. The U.S. has been very vocal and anxious about China’s rapid economic progress and currency control. Yet, recently China has witnessed its economy have a slight slowdown followed by a slight uptick. Will the new leaders amend the policies that have shaped China’s economic growth, or will they issue reforms that allow for more control? Will there be more openness? A new growing middle class has also been putting the pressure on Chinese leadership to change many domestic and political policies.

One of the big changes that could be seen is the size of the leadership being reduced from 9 to 7 members. Just how deep and significant are these changes? Imagine if the U.S. saw a change in the presidency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Supreme Court and the governorships of most or all the states all at once. In either case, President Obama and China’s Asian neighbors are going to have to work with a new Chinese leadership.  President Obama and his administration have charged China with many unfair trade practices. China’s Asian neighbors and the U.S. have both visually witnessed China show off its military buildup. More recently, Japan and China have engaged in verbal spats over the Senkaku Islands which has left Japan wondering if it is time to start building up its military. China has sent surveillance ships to sail around the island, pushing the U.S. and Japan to perform and practice joint military exercises.

As mentioned above, there are many questions that surround what the change in Chinese leadership exactly means. The future of U.S. – Chinese relations is up in the air due to a variety of variables. It can be gathered that Xi Jinping, the current Vice President of China, will become the new head of state and Li Kequiang will become the new Premier. With the U.S. and Chinese economies deeply entwined, it is hopeful that the Obama administration will be able to work with the new Chinese leadership. The Economy of the Euro zone remains to struggle while that of the U.S. is moving at a snail’s pace.  Who knows what would happen if the Chinese economy completely slows down or undergoes major reforms