Beijing - China can buckle in for another four years of tariffs, tensions and tough talk under a second Donald Trump presidency, experts told AFP -- though they said the billionaire’s openness to deals could play in Beijing’s favour. World leaders lined up to congratulate Trump on Wednesday as the former president neared his election victory and a return to the White House. Beijing declared its hope that the two countries could enjoy a “peaceful coexistence” in the future, while remaining tight-lipped on how precisely the mercurial magnate’s victory could affect ties. But experts said that, behind closed doors, China was preparing for a rocky few years. “There will be more turbulence, more conflict, more uncertainties and even more risks in Sino-US relations in the next four years,” Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Shanghai’s Fudan University, told AFP.
Both US presidential candidates had pledged to get tougher on Beijing.
But Trump upped the ante, pledging to slap 60-percent tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the United States.
That proposal could hit $500 billion worth of Chinese exports, asset managers PineBridge Investments have suggested.
Memories of the first Trump administration are likely still fresh in the minds of policymakers in Beijing.
During his time as president, Trump launched a gruelling trade war with China, imposing swingeing tariffs on Chinese goods for what he said were unfair practices by Beijing, such as theft of US technology and currency manipulation.