The Democratic Party won control of both the House and Senate in the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday (3rd), while the Republican Party lost its advantage of simultaneously controlling the White House and Congress.
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Mr. Ding, an independent Chinese scholar who follows the US midterm elections, said in an interview with this station on Thursday (5th) that the Republican Party's defeat in this election has attracted widespread attention, but the US policy toward China may not necessarily change significantly as a result.
He said, "I don't think there will be any change in China policy, because the Democratic and Republican parties are highly aligned on many issues. They currently have the biggest differences on Europe, the Russia-Ukraine war, and domestic issues, but they often show a high degree of agreement on China policy."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to questions about the US midterm elections at a press conference on Wednesday (August 4), stating that it was an internal affair of the United States. She also stated that China is willing to continue working with the US to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen communication, handle differences, and expand cooperation.
Chinese netizens are paying attention to election commentators and discussing lessons learned.
At 10:00 AM this Thursday, a reporter checked the Sina Weibo trending topics list and found no topics related to the US midterm election results in the top 50. However, the topic of the "epic surge" in the US stock market ranked fourth. One netizen commented, "The Democrats won big; this is time to pop the champagne!" The related posts the reporter browsed mainly focused on stock market performance, with little discussion of the election's impact on US-China policy.
This station noted that many netizens in WeChat chat groups were discussing the US election. One netizen asked, "The US has elections, when will China have them?" Yao Lifang, a commentator who focuses on China's electoral system, told reporters that although the US recently held midterm elections, Taiwan is about to hold its nine-in-one elections, and many provinces and cities in mainland China are also conducting elections for district and county people's congress representatives, mainland Chinese people's attention to the US election remains limited.
He said, "The United States has midterm elections, and Taiwan has local elections. There are still relatively few people who pay attention to the US elections. People with higher education and a longer-term perspective do pay attention, and they will consider whether there are any aspects that can be learned from, how to learn from them, and so on. They will consider these aspects."
Mr. Ding said that the Chinese public's attention to this election is also related to the fact that online information has broadened their international perspective.
He said, "Yesterday's midterm election also attracted the attention of many people in China who are concerned about current affairs. This is not based on the US policy toward China, but because the openness of the internet and the development of information in the internet age over the years have given the Chinese people more opportunities to broaden their international perspective, see the national conditions of the United States, and see the changes in current affairs around the world. This has also given many people in China who are concerned about politics and current affairs a sense of personal participation. Although they cannot vote, they have an indirect sense of participation in many aspects of their expression."
US and Chinese militaries maintain communication, policy toward China continues
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Chinese militaries continued their contact. Officials from both sides held a Crisis Communication and Prevention Working Group meeting in Washington from November 2nd to 3rd to discuss reducing military risks and improving emergency communication. The U.S. side stated that it will continue to discuss defense issues with the Chinese military in the coming months.
In an interview with this station, Song Guocheng, a senior researcher at the Center for International Relations Studies at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, said that the midterm elections have a significant impact on domestic politics in the United States, but policies toward China and Taiwan will not undergo significant or structural changes as a result.
He said, "The policy toward China is actually a bipartisan consensus. The struggle between the Democratic and Republican parties is basically still centered around domestic economic issues, oil, prices, and so on. Even if there is a change of ruling party in foreign affairs, I don't think it will be reversed. At most, there will be some minor adjustments, but it will not significantly change the relationship with China or Taiwan."
Song Guocheng stated that with the Democrats controlling Congress, Trump's push for domestic legislation will face greater constraints, but he will still have considerable discretion in areas such as foreign policy, trade, and defense, and may take a tougher stance on tariffs and technology restrictions on China.
Song Guocheng: Our support for Taiwan will not waver.
Regarding future US-Taiwan relations, Song Guocheng stated that the Democratic Party's support for Taiwan is no less than that of the Republican Party, and members of both parties have previously urged Trump to proceed with arms sales to Taiwan and related legislation.
He said, "Regarding the $14 billion arms sale, many Democratic and Republican lawmakers are urging Trump to approve it for Taiwan as soon as possible. So I think Trump in the 'post-Trump era' may be even tougher on China. I think the Democratic-controlled Senate and House of Representatives will not back down in their support for Taiwan, and may even be more pronounced."
Song Guocheng stated that the Taiwan Relations Act forms the fundamental legal framework for U.S. policy toward Taiwan, and neither the Democratic nor Republican parties are likely to undermine this framework. The new U.S. Congress will take office in January next year, and the Trump administration's push for trade negotiations and technology policies with China will be subject to oversight by the Democratic-led Congress.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a brief statement emphasizing that its work with the United States has always adhered to the principles of non-partisanship, building goodwill, and active engagement, and has long enjoyed consistent support from bipartisan members of the U.S. Congress and the executive branch.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that it will continue to deepen all-round cooperation with the United States in various fields such as security, trade, science and technology and education on this basis, and ensure that the U.S. Congress and local governments attach importance to and support Taiwan-U.S. relations and issues of common concern to both sides.
