BBCIn China, people are following the US elections with great interest, but also some anxiety. They fear that whoever wins the White House could influence several aspects of life – at home and abroad.
“None of us wants war,” Xiang says as the music in the park reaches a crescendo and a nearby dancer elegantly twirls his partner.
He came to Ritan Park to learn to dance with other seniors.
They gather here regularly, just a few hundred meters from the Beijing home of the American ambassador to China.
In addition to new dance moves, they are also thinking about the upcoming US elections.
The event comes at a key moment between the two superpowers, when tensions over Taiwan, trade and international affairs are high.
“I'm afraid that China-US relations are becoming more and more tense,” says Xiang, who is in his sixties. We want peace, he adds.
A crowd gathered to listen to this conversation. Most are reluctant to give their full names in a country where it is permissible to talk about the American president, but criticizing their own leader could get them in trouble.
They say they are worried about war – not just the conflict between Washington and Beijing, but the escalation of current wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
That's why seventy-year-old Meng hopes Donald Trump will win the election.
“Although it imposes economic sanctions on China, it does not want to start or wage war. Biden causes more wars, so more ordinary people dislike him. It is Mr. Biden who supports the war in Ukraine, and both Russia and Ukraine are suffering huge losses in this war,” he said.
Some sisters record the dance routine on their social media pages. “Donald Trump said during the debate that he would end the war in Ukraine 24 hours after taking office,” says one of them.
“I don't know much about Harris, we think she's on the same path as President Biden, who supports the war.”
Their opinions echo the key message propagated in Chinese state media.
China called on the international community to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza while accommodating its “Arab brothers” in the Middle East, and quickly accused the United States of unwavering support for Israel.
On Ukraine, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the United Nations that China was playing a “constructive role,” accusing Washington of “taking advantage of the situation for selfish gain.”
Although most analysts believe that Beijing has no favorite in the race for the White House, many agree that Kamala Harris is an unknown person to the Chinese people and the country's leaders.
However, some believe that she will be more stable than Trump when it comes to one of the biggest flashpoints between the US and China – Taiwan.
“I don't like Trump. I don't think there is a good future between the US and China – there are too many problems, the global economy, and also the problem of Taiwan,” says the father of a four-year-old boy in a park on a family day off.
He fears that their differences over Taiwan could ultimately lead to conflict.
“I don't want this. I don't want my son to go into the army,” he says as the boy begs to go back to the slide.
China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own, and President Xi has said “reunification is inevitable,” vowing to retake it by force if necessary.
The United States maintains official relations with Beijing and recognizes it as China's sole government under its “one China policy,” but it also remains Taiwan's most important international supporter.
Washington is legally obligated to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons, and Joe Biden has said the United States will defend Taiwan militarily, breaking from a position that has been described as strategic ambiguity.
Harris didn't go that far. Instead, when asked in a recent interview, she stated “a commitment to security and prosperity for all nations.”
Instead, Donald Trump is focusing on agreement, not diplomacy. He called on Taiwan to pay for his protection.
“Taiwan took away our chip business. I mean, how stupid are we? They are extremely rich,” he said in a recent interview. “Taiwan should pay us for defense.”
One of the former US president's biggest concerns is that he has made it clear that he plans to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese goods.
That's the last thing many businesses in China want right now as the country tries to produce enough goods to export its products amid an economic downturn.
China's ministers are bristling at the US-led trade tariffs first imposed by Donald Trump.
President Biden also imposed tariffs on Chinese electronic vehicles and solar panels. Beijing believes these moves are an attempt to stunt its rise as a global economic power.
Getty Images“I don't think imposing tariffs on China will do any good for the United States,” Xiang says, echoing the sentiments of many people we met. He adds that the tariffs will hit US citizens and increase costs for ordinary people.
Many people in the younger generation, while patriotic, also look to the United States for trends and culture – and that also has power, perhaps more than any diplomatic mission.
In the park, Lily and Anna, ages 20 and 22, who get their news from TikTok, echo some of the national pride messages spread by Chinese state media amid competing coverage.
“Our country is a very wealthy and powerful country,” they say, dressed in national costumes. They love China, they said, although they also love the Avengers, especially Captain America.
Taylor Swift is also on their playlists.
Others, like 17-year-old Lucy, hope to study in America one day.
Riding an exercise bike newly installed at the park, he dreams of visiting Universal Studios one day after graduation.
Lucy says she's excited to hear that she's a candidate. “Harris's candidacy is an important step toward gender equality, and seeing her as a presidential candidate is encouraging.”
The People's Republic of China has never had a woman leader and no women currently serve on the 24-member panel known as the Politburo, which includes the most senior members of the Chinese Communist Party.
Lucy is also concerned about the intense competition between the two countries and believes that the best way to improve relations between China and the United States is to increase people-to-people contacts.
Both sides have promised to work in this direction, and yet the number of American students studying in China has dropped from about 15,000 in 2011 to 800.
Xi hopes to open the door for 50,000 American students to come to China over the next five years. However, in a recent interview with the BBC, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns accused parts of the Chinese government of not taking this commitment seriously.
He said there have been dozens of times when security forces or ministries have prevented Chinese citizens from participating in U.S.-led public diplomacy.
On the other hand, Chinese students and academics reported that they were unfairly targeted by U.S. border officials.
However, Lucy remains optimistic that one day she will be able to travel to America to promote Chinese culture. And when music plays nearby, it encourages Americans to visit and learn about China.
“Sometimes we may be a little reserved and not as open or extroverted as Americans, but we are open,” he says as he goes to see his family.
BBC Photography by Xiqing Wang
Between now and the November 5 election, BBC correspondents in other parts of the world will be exploring what people think about the White House race
