When Donald Trump was elected president, the hashtag #TrumpWon was trending on Chinese social media. Chinese Internet users speculated about what Trump’s victory might mean for Sino-American relations, discussed the broader global implications of a President Trump, and dissected the impact of the win on the U.S. political system. What follows is a selection of reactions by Chinese netizens, writing on the massive social media platform Weibo on the morning of November 9, followed by quotes collected in telephone interviews with Chinese living in the United States.
The question is, can [Trump] replicate the legend of Reagan? The Reagan era’s achievements, to a large extent, were thanks to James Baker’s and Donald Regan’s plentiful experience, and the ability of the “organization branch” made up of White House aides and staff to create a de facto “American Premiership.” In Trump’s current team, people cannot see similar indications. No one knows who Trump trusts, and the aides and staff he will choose to make up his cabinet are like Godzilla obscured by thick fog.
—王珣Jeff, 9:38 am ET
问题是，他能复制里根的传奇吗？里根时期的成就很大程度上是由于詹姆斯·贝克、唐纳德·里根这样经验丰富的“建制派”出任白宫幕僚长并把这一职务塑造为了“美国总理”。在特朗普现在的团队中，人们看不到类似的迹象。没人知道谁是新总统眼中的“自己人”，内阁及幕僚团队像哥斯拉一样隐藏在浓雾之中。
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Hillary didn’t lose; the Democratic Party lost!
—马红银 9:43 am ET
Hilary没有失败，失败的是民主党！
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From now on, the Americans will compete with us mostly on trade, and won’t interfere with our power—it’s a slap in the face for their little Asian friends. Little Japan, if you don’t behave yourself, we will liberate you from capitalism and let you become socialist.
—最佳大赢家 9:29 am ET
以后美国佬跟我们竞争的更多是商业，而非干涉我们的主权，这下，硬生生给了亚洲的小伙伴一巴掌。小日本你在不老实，我们解放你们，让你们过上社会主义
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I feel that once Trump becomes president it will be like the butterfly starting to flap its wings, setting up upheaval for global economics and politics. The American stocks have plummeted, and it’s no wonder Bank of China sent out a statement in advance saying that in the period around the American election, gold prices will be adjusting; over these few days, the whole globe’s investment markets will feel like a rollercoaster.
—Supermanwife1314, 10:02 am ET
感觉Trump上台就像引起全球政治经济局势动荡的那只蝴蝶开始扇动翅膀了，美股都暴跌了，怪不得中行之前发声明美国大选期间外汇、贵金属价差调整呢，这几天全球投资市场都跟坐过山车似的
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I heard America is only a democracy on the surface; in practice only rich people can talk about democracy. The government goes with what the big capitalists say. The reason they like to start wars is because going to war makes them money, a lot of money. Capitalism will always be shaky, but whether socialism will take over is hard to say. In short, the problems of capitalist society are expanding, and it’s not all because of the ruling party, it’s more because of the problems of the social system. This is just one person’s opinion; don’t get all worked up.
—Diherb, 11:26 ET
曾听说过美国明面上民主，实际上只有富人才能谈民主，政府由大资本家说了算，之所以喜欢打仗，也是因为打仗能赚钱，赚很多钱。资本主义总是要被淘汰的，至于是不是社会主义取而代之还不好说，总之资本主义社会的问题正在不断恶化，并不完全因为执政党，更多的是社会制度的问题。个人见解，不洗勿喷。
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The U.S. drama is over, and now I am only paying attention to Korean dramas.
—11璐酱, 9:19 ET
美剧播完了我现在只关心韩剧
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“I wasn’t surprised [by Trump’s victory], and I always thought he would win. If you go to rural Pennsylvania and have a look around, you would see it. The rust belt was the key to this election; Bernie knew that; Trump knew that. . . The Chinese people I know supported both candidates. Those who supported Trump did so because they thought he would cut taxes. Some of them disrespect democracy and supported him for entertainment. There were more people who supported Clinton, largely because they didn’t agree with Trump’s methods.”
—A teacher a working in Pittsburgh, who asked not to be identified by her real name
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“Historically, the relationships between Republican governments and the Chinese have not been bad, so right now I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic [about Sino-U.S. relations].”
—Simon Li, Chief Technology Officer, Super Link Inc., New York City
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“Congress still gets to decide trade policy, and the president doesn’t always have the final say. On this issue, I think the conservatives are currently too optimistic, and the liberals are too pessimistic. Trump, however, isn’t an ideologue about protectionism, and he might follow a more moderate path. Of course, he doesn’t have governing experience, so he has a steep learning curve.”
—He Jingkai, a student at Harvard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts