As the US presidential election approaches, the intense race has attracted the attention of mainland Chinese netizens. In recent days, many related topics have been trending on Weibo, and a large number of relevant comments have appeared on Chinese social media platforms. However, due to the Chinese Communist Party’s guidance on blackening American public opinion, the discussions have mostly focused on negative aspects of the US.
With the US presidential election entering the final countdown, mainland Chinese netizens on Weibo have shown a strong interest in the development of the race and related comments have gained significant attention.
While some netizens believe that the US election is unrelated to China, many others are following the developments with keen interest, adopting a spectator mentality.
Posts on Weibo related to the US election show that mainland Chinese netizens’ support is not one-sided. Some show support for Republican candidate Donald Trump, while others support Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
However, their support mainly stems from two perspectives: hoping for a US government that is friendly towards China, or expecting a new government to lead the US towards decline and no longer prosperity. In response to this phenomenon, Lin Heli, a senior researcher at the Jamestown Foundation’s China program, told Radio Free Asia that the appearance of a large number of “spectator crowds” on social media platforms is likely due to the strict control exercised by the Chinese Communist Party over public opinion.
Meanwhile, the coverage of the US presidential election by Chinese state media has also sparked attention. On November 4th, CCTV, the CCP’s official media outlet, took the topic of “The American Presidential Election as a Free-for-All” on Weibo, using a dramatic and humorously dark tone to describe this year’s election. The post quickly trended and triggered widespread discussion among netizens.
In comparison to the cautious approach taken when discussing internal Chinese politics, mainland Chinese netizens appear particularly active in their bold comments and jokes about American politics.
Furthermore, discussions on Weibo related to the US presidential election also exhibit another characteristic: a concentration on negative aspects of the US.
Lin Heli noted that regardless of which US presidential candidate wins, there isn’t much difference in their attitudes towards China (the CCP). Both sides will continue the US-China competition and maintain American dominance as much as possible. Therefore, when manipulating public opinion, the CCP does not intentionally favor a particular candidate but rather focuses on denigrating democracy.
“China (the CCP), Russia, Iran, North Korea all have unappreciative and satirical views on the US election,… Their main goal is to discredit the democratic system,” said Lin Heli.
Throughout the campaign period of US presidential candidates, the CCP continuously used fake accounts to spread false information on social media, casting doubts on the fairness of the US election process. These manipulative actions were exposed.
A joint investigation by Voice of America and the Doublethink Lab in Taiwan discovered that several so-called “junk disguised” CCP fake information accounts in the past 10 days have posted or reposted accusations of election fraud in the US. These accusations are not original and similar claims have already been widely spread on American social media.
This latest discovery aligns with their analysis of the content published by these “junk disguised” accounts in recent months, revealing that the purpose of the CCP’s fake information campaign is not to help a specific candidate win but to make the American public lose trust in the government and lose confidence in the US system.
US officials have previously expressed concerns that foreign forces, including the CCP, may question the election process through fake information campaigns and attempt to create chaos after the election ends.