MNI POLICY: China Should Address US Issues Post Vote: Advisor

China should wait after November's U.S. presidential election to address its relationship with Washington, a former advisor to the Beijing government said Friday, adding that officials should also look to strengthen relations with European and other Asian countries to help address global governance challenges in the post-Covid era,.

"This year is the darkest [period] for China-U.S. relation, as it is the U.S. presidential election year," said Chen Fengying, former director of the World Economy Institute of China's Institute of Contemporary International Relations at a symposium organised by the All-China Journalists' Association.

Simple economic issues may be politicized and U.S. domestic issues tend to be internationalized during campaigning, said Chen, adding that Russia-U.S. relations are also strained at present.

So as not to wast the period around the U.S. election, Chen says China should focus on getting the China-EU investment treaty and RCEP signed this year.

Looking at the posy-Covid global economy, Chen also expects that many Western countries, along with Brazil, will see a V-shape rebound in Q3, as stimulus packages adopted around the world totaled close to USD20 trillion so far. China will be ahead of the curve to achieve a 2.5-3% annual growth if measures to boost consumptions kick in, she said.