There will be at least one good outcome of Election Day: Whoever wins, communist China will lose.

Whether it’s Joe Biden or Donald Trump, the next president of the United States will likely take a hard line on China. Both candidates have staked out claims to have the tougher policy. This competition is good for American interests — China is the greatest threat to America’s security, economy and values — and while it should have happened years ago, it’s better late than never.

How did this bipartisan unity come about? Much of the credit goes to the American people. While the political class has spent the better part of four decades cozying up to China and expanding diplomatic, economic and cultural ties, Americans have maintained a steady hostility toward the world’s communist standard-bearer. With rare exceptions, public opinion has been unfavorable toward Beijing for 30 years straight. Following the coronavirus pandemic and the Chinese crackdown on Hong Kong, that opposition has reached a record, with two-thirds of Americans now holding an unfavorable view of China.

Trump's dealings with China

Donald Trump was the first to follow the American people’s lead. He made China a centerpiece of his campaign in 2016. As president, his record has been a mixed bag, both in words and deeds, but on the whole, he has shifted America’s China policy in a much more aggressive and assertive direction.

The bad must come first. Trump has rhetorically put his friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping above America’s interests — even though his verbal appreciation for the dictator is surely not reciprocated. Trump has also fallen short on human rights early on.