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China is thriving in the chaos of the US presidential

transition
Analysis by James Griffiths, CNN
 Updated 0736 GMT (1536 HKT) January 7, 2021

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Hong Kong (CNN) — This is shaping up to be a good year for Beijing.
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As the rest of the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, China -- where Nastrojowa, pełna magii saga
rodzinna. Sześć sióstr. Choć
infections have been minimal for months now -- is pressing on ahead, reviving its economy and
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pursuing long-held geopolitical goals.
Odwiedź
One thing that has enabled the latter is the ongoing chaos of the United States presidential
transition. While the long delay between the election and the inauguration always creates a
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degree of confusion over policy and potential for disorder, the angry refusal of President Donald
Trump and other Republicans to accept the results has exacerbated this no end.

This was exemplified Wednesday night, as protesters stormed the US Capitol, while lawmakers
sheltered and were briefly evacuated. With talk of an "attempted coup" and "terrorism" now
dominating conversation, it's unlikely that many in Washington will be paying much attention to
actions beyond America's borders.

In recent days, Beijing has struck a major investment agreement with the European Union, one
that potentially undermines Washington's ability to take on China, and launched a major
crackdown in Hong Kong, with dozens of activists and lawmakers arrested in a purge that
threatens to wipe out the city's democratic opposition.

Biden's team has criticized both, though he still has two

weeks until he is in o ce, while Trump has been
focused on fighting his election loss. His secretary of
state, Mike Pompeo, did however release a statement
late Wednesday threatening sanctions over the Hong
Kong arrests.

Both recent actions by Beijing were symbolic of a China

Related Article: Dozens of Hong Kong
opposition figures arrested under national that is both emboldened by its relative strength
security law compared to the rest of the world right now, and keen
to take advantage of the current chaos in Washington -
- one of President-elect Joe Biden's top advisers had
urged Brussels to wait before striking a trade deal, only to see Beijing o er concessions to get it
secured sooner.

While the US may not have been able to stop either development even in the best of times, that a
superpower has been seemingly outmaneuvered will delight many of Washington's critics in
Beijing and elsewhere, who have always felt the US throws its weight around too much
internationally.

After veering between criticism and embrace of Beijing for much of his term, Trump took a hard
line against China in his last year in o ce, with his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, pushing
sanctions and other action against Beijing in Washington, while attempting to rally an anti-China
coalition around the world.

That attempt has been less than successful, however, with only a handful of countries, notably
Australia, eager to jump on board -- a decision that Canberra may now be ruing as it deals with
major blowback from Beijing.

China's leaders claim that unlike Washington, they do not interfere in the internal matters of
other states, and only seek "win-win cooperation." This is not true, and Beijing wields its
influence much like any superpower, from the Belt and Road mega infrastructure initiative, to
attempting to shape politics in Australia, Taiwan, and countries across Asia and the rest of the
world. Yet the posture of non-interference is nevertheless persuasive to many observers.

This influence has grown as China has emerged as the world's second superpower, and been
accelerated by political chaos and division in Washington, as well as the failure of the US to
respond e ectively to the coronavirus.

That China is preparing to roll out its own homegrown vaccine, with promises to export hundreds
of millions of doses overseas -- including throughout the developing world -- only serves to
underscore this apparent shift.

Both Washington and Beijing tend to hold up the US

Related Article: America's anti-
democratic chaos looks surreal from
abroad
tabloid, ran the headline "Chinese netizens jeer riot in US Capitol as 'Karma,' say bubbles of
'democracy and freedom' have burst."
system as the be all and end all of democracy, despite
its many flaws and the fact that the majority of
democratic countries do not resemble the US in the
way they run their governments. As the US model has
begun to show cracks under Trump, this has benefited
China's propagandists, who can use it to argue for the
validity of their own authoritarian system of governance.
The violence seen in Washington on Wednesday will
likely feed neatly into this narrative. On Wednesday
evening, the Global Times, an ultra-nationalist state-run

The report, which summarized highly selective reactions to Wednesday's events on Chinese
social media, appeared to revel in what it termed US "double standards."

"This is the first political coup to happen in the American continent without the involvement of
US embassies," read one mocking quote in the article.

Other, more prosaic state media reports compared the storming of the Capitol and 2019 anti-
government protests in Hong Kong, taunting Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi who spoke
out on behalf of the city about whether they would do the same for the pro-Trump rioters.

In a regular press conference Thursday afternoon, China's Ministry of Foreign A airs

spokeswoman Hua Chunying echoed these comparisons, saying "a lot of people are thinking
about the fact that this is a déjà vu scenario."

"I think some people on the US side have very di erent reactions and wording to what happened
in Hong Kong in 2019 and what is happening in the US today, and this stark contrast and the
reasons behind it are thought-provoking and deserve serious and profound reflection by all of Paid Content by

us," she added.

"We believe that the American people want security and peace, especially in the current critical
situation of the pandemic, and we hope that the American people will enjoy peace, stability and
security as soon as possible."

But such comparisons are facile, given that protesters in Hong Kong were fighting for greater
democracy -- and Pelosi praised peaceful demonstrations, not the more violent ones that [Galerie] Präsidenten der Vereinigten
followed -- while those in Washington Wednesday were seeking to overturn the results of an Staaten nach ihrem IQ.
Restwow
election.

The Hong Kong protests also provided the pretense for Beijing's ongoing crackdown in the city,
that Washington, for all its outrage, posturing and even sanctions, has proved powerless to stop.
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This year marks the centennial of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, an anniversary
Beijing has already promised to celebrate by achieving a "moderately prosperous" society, More from CNN
something which appears in sight after the country wiped out what it terms absolute poverty last
year.

Chinese President Xi Jinping may now feel that he is in a position to achieve international
objectives too, such as redoubling Beijing's control over the South China Sea, or forcing a First Lady Melania Opinion: What
Trump says she has Melania Trump
showdown over the democratic island of Taiwan. no interest… leaves behind

In the election campaign, Biden matched Trump for tough-on-China rhetoric, but will likely be
hoping for a relative reset in relations with Beijing once he takes o ce, enabling the US to
compete with China from a position of strength going forward.
Opinion: The Opinion: End the
But with two weeks left until Biden takes o ce, it remains to be seen if the chaos in Washington courage of Brad silence about what
Ra ensperger Covid-19 is…
will enable Beijing to pursue other long-sought goals.

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