What Trump augurs for Sino-US ties

The rhetorical heat remains. The partisan smoke has not yet cleared. Nonetheless, it is surprisingly sure that Donald Trump, the 45th US president, will return to the White House as the 47th US president with a surprisingly decisive victory. US presidential elections have consequences and while Sino-US relations will be one among many, it will be a big one.

It is no exaggeration that nothing matters more for global peace and prosperity, over and above the obvious well-being of the American and Chinese peoples, than good, stable relations between the two largest economies of the world. Everyone wins when Sino-US relations are good; everyone loses when Sino-US relations are not stable.

Consider the background in US politics. It is probative, even revelatory, that while Democrats and Republicans fight over almost every imaginable issue, promulgating radically opposing worldviews, they are remarkably unified in taking a tough stand on China.