International Perspectives on the U.S. Election
At our highly diverse school, this crucial election is not limited in its effects to US residents. The following international students share their thoughts:
Jerry Zhu ’22 is a two-year fourth former from Beijing. He says “Chinese media outlets are generally viewing the election as an event that will cause volatility,” and that “Chinese banks [are] anticipating significant market fluctuations and other sources of risk.”
Some of the more important issues Zhu has observed are Trump’s attacks on China and trade.
“Trump has repeatedly attacked China, [primarily] for the extensive COVID-19 pandemic in the US,” said Zhu. “Trump has also repeatedly applied tariffs, which have caused economic setbacks for both countries. Moreover, the general attitude of the administration is one that appears to focus on a breakdown of the established agreements between the two world superpowers.”
More generally, Zhu reports uncertainty about possible economic changes due to the election. “There is no certainty in how Trump or Biden can definitively change the life of the average Chinese citizen. However, [during] the previous trade war between the two countries orchestrated by Trump, China’s economy has experienced slower growth, resulting in…lowered exports. Biden’s policies are unclear, as he has not discussed much China policy.”Valentina de Carvalho ’22 is a first-year fourth former from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. “People here in Brazil are not very connected to the USA elections because it is a very different electoral process but a lot is said about the possible results, especially with many things happening like the Black Lives Matter movement. The beginning of the movement in the United States had a momentary impact of short duration here. People commented for a while but then didn’t say much. Here in Brazil the population is very mixed with various origins. The question of black and white does not have [a high level] level of relevance or discussion. I referred earlier to the movement as it is visible that it is affecting the political stability of the United States and it is interfering in elections.” She reports much of the information coming to Brazil comes through social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp.
