“Kamala who?” is what Chinese social media is asking these days. For the Democratic Party, Biden’s resignation would bring a ray of hope to the looming U.S. presidential race. Kamala Harris, the expected successor, has stirred a rare accord between Republicans and Chinese netizens: she would beat Donald Trump without stepping off the bus. In a Weibo poll of 12,000 responses, 80 percent crowned her the winner, according to a Shanghai newspaper.
Even exotic appeal rarely sparks interest in Chinese observers of democratic elections. Yet recent events have grabbed attention: first, the iconically dramatic image of Trump with a bleeded ear, and then his surrender. The topic “Biden’s exit” has drawn more than 60 million views on Weibo, and its four top trending topics today all allude to it. The prevailing sentiment is one of anticipated emotional flatness. One user predicts, “The outcome is decided; what remains is only theater.” For some, the Democratic Party resembles Wu Dalang, a character from classic literature, poisoned first and suffocated later by his wife’s infidelity: with Biden or Harris, the fate seems written.
Harris has not enjoyed much front-page exposure in China. From Beijing there have been visits by Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, or John Kerry, but never by the vice president during her tenure, not even during that chorus of leaders that tried to calm the storm after the United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon. She has barely crossed paths with President Xi Jinping, aside from a brief moment at the 2022 APEC summit in Thailand. In Chinese social media, the focus has been on her videos showing loud laughter and on her husband leaving his law firm to back her campaign, which spurred a lively debate about China’s gender lag. It also matters little to anyone whether the United States might be led by someone with Asian ancestry; in any case, few expect a softened hostility toward Washington because of roots alone.
No bold plot twists are foreseen by analysts regarding Harris in the major rivalry of our era. “Her China policy during the elections is unlikely to differ much from that of the Democratic Party. In the short term, she probably won’t adopt a China‑focused strategy,” says Tang Xiaoyang of the International Relations Department at Tsinghua University in the Guangzhou Daily.
Inexperience and achievements shortfalls
Harris is criticized for a perceived lack of experience, modest achievements, and questions about her leadership. “Looking back, her tenure as vice president has not been especially impressive or mission‑defining,” comments Sun Chenghao, a senior researcher at the Center for Security and Strategy at the same university, in The Paper. “As a woman with minority roots, she carries significant symbolic weight on issues of gender and ethnicity. But as a candidate, she has certain flaws, which explains why many analysts remain cautiously optimistic about her chances.”
The need for a successor proved essential after Biden’s faltering performance and fragile health, according to Chinese experts. “The Democrats chose the most rational and pragmatic option. It came a bit late, but it was the right decision,” asserts Li Haidong, professor at the Foreign Affairs University in China, in Global Times.