China features prominently in the rhetoric of presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who accuses the country of stealing American jobs and cheating at global trade. In China itself, though, he is only now emerging as a public figure.

And although Chinese officials and state media have denounced Trump's threats of economic retaliation, many Chinese observers see a silver lining in his focus on economic issues to the near-total exclusion of human rights and political freedoms. That appears to make him an attractive alternative to his likely rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, who is regarded as far more critical of China's communist system.

Trump “could in fact be the best president for China,'' Hong Kong Phoenix Television political commentator Wu Jun said during a recent on-air discussion.

“That's because the Republican Party is more practical and Trump is a businessman who puts his commercial interests above everything else,'' Wu said. Clinton, on the other hand, “might be the least friendly president toward China.''

Trump was largely unknown in China until his campaign for the Republican nomination began gathering momentum last year.

Though China's government rarely comments on American political campaigns, Trump's advocacy of a 45 percent tariff on imports that would hit China hard has been lambasted by Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, who called Trump “one of those irrational types'' and said enacting such a tariff would cost the U.S. its global leadership.

“Don't even think of being the big boss anymore,'' Lou said in April.

Trump's comments might've sparked a stronger response if Chinese had not already grown accustomed to American candidates making strong comments about their country during elections, only to moderate their positions once in office, said Nanjing University foreign relations expert Zhu Feng. “The most important thing is that he or she be solid in their knowledge about China and know how to strike the right balance.’’

Many Chinese may also be relieved that Trump is focused so relentlessly on China's role in the U.S. economy, rather on the country's authoritarian political system, human rights record or policies toward Tibet and the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Trump's questioning of U.S. foreign military commitments is also sweet music to the ears of Chinese nationalists who want China to dominate in Asia and challenge U.S. dominance in the rest of the world. His opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which excludes China and seeks to offset Chinese influence, also goes down well in Beijing, though he has also criticized China's construction of islands in the South China Sea.

Although no polls have been taken, Chinese public sentiment toward Trump appears mixed. Comparing him to a figure from folklore known for sowing chaos, the official Global Times newspaper proclaimed him a symptom of an “American disease.''

“I don't think many people knew him as a businessman before the campaign,'' said Shanghai IT engineer Kong Kong, who is unimpressed with Trump's vaunted political outsider status. “Politics is not entertainment and simply being fresh may not be a good thing. A lack of political experience and an excess of personality may lead to an imbalance among interest groups and an abuse of authority, which are not good things for America.''

Zhong Heng, a Shanghai paralegal, says she regards much of what Trump says as bluster. “He's like an artificial performance-enhancing drug being fed to the American people.’’

Trump, though, does seem to have won some Chinese supporters, particularly online. There, chat groups such as “Donald Trump Super Fans Club'' and “God Emperor Trump'' have popped up in recent months. —AP

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