How do Chinese residents hoping to get US visas feel about the choice?

In the visa section of the US Consulate in Shanghai, dozens of people are already lining up at 7 a.m. waiting to travel, work, study or travel to America. It can take months to get a visa appointment. Even with a time slot, hundreds of applicants who come in one day still wait at least an hour for the interview.

Data scientist Andy Dong is extending his American work visa and said he has no preference between Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

“I don’t think there was a good choice right now,” Dong said.

The United States and China traded $575 billion in goods last year. That could change depending on who wins the upcoming US presidential election. Trump has said he will increase tariffs on Chinese exports, while Harris’ China policy could be an extension of the current administration under President Joe Biden, which consists of cooperation in some areas and protectionism in others.

“If Trump is chosen, it could be even worse,” Dong said.

Worse still, because Trump, after being elected president in 2016, is closely scrutinizing Chinese students studying in fields that could impact U.S. national security. This has continued under the Biden administration.

“It is very difficult, especially for some majors like chemistry, biochemistry or biology, artificial intelligence and computer science,” Dong said.

However, that didn’t stop computer science graduate Carmen Wang from going to the USA. She is applying to continue her studies in Business Analytics in Chicago.

“Because America is bigger than any other country in this area,” Wang said.

Instead, she believes the biggest impact of the U.S. presidential election could be on Chinese people seeking to settle in America.

“Trump wants America to be great again, so maybe he doesn’t [more] “I want immigrants to go to America,” she said, adding that Harris might be a little better off because she is the daughter of immigrants.

“If she is elected, then [Chinese] Immigrants could be tolerated a little more,” she said.

Chinese exporters may face more problems under Trump, according to salesman Huang Tao, who is applying for a business visa.

“Trump has already said he will raise tariffs on Chinese exports again,” Huang said. “It has caused great harm to companies like ours.”

Huang works for a flooring company whose products are subject to an additional 25% tariff in the United States that was imposed during Trump’s first term. The tariffs were kept in place by the Biden administration.

The tariffs have kept Huang’s flooring business from growing as quickly in the U.S. market, but America remains a key market for the company.

“There is still demand for our products and in any case American consumers end up bearing the cost of the tariffs,” he said.

Although Huang doesn’t want Trump to win, his colleague Wang Yong does.

“Because Trump is a businessman and he cares about maximizing his utility,” he said as he waited to be granted a business visa to the United States

He said Chinese leaders may find it easier to negotiate with a businessman like Trump than with Harris.

But when Wang was pressed to name a good deal reached by China during Trump’s first term, he had a hard time coming up with one. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

“I just feel from the domestic media that China favors Trump more. He gets more coverage,” he said.

However, most people who spoke to Marketplace said they don’t follow the US election, like Zhang Yunwei, who is applying for a business visa to Georgia.

“My job is pretty busy, that’s why,” he said.

“We don’t care about other countries’ affairs. “It’s none of our business,” said a vendor who rents lockers to people because applicants are not allowed to bring electronic devices or bags into the U.S. consulate.

“We just want to make more money,” he said, without giving his name for fear of official retaliation.

However, the simmering tensions between the US and China have had a direct impact on the locker business around the US consulate. The seller said there used to be six places in the neighborhood offering the service, but the number has dropped by half as the number of visa applicants has increased from thousands to hundreds per day in recent years.

It doesn’t matter whether Trump or Harris is elected, according to a woman whose daughter is applying for a tourist visa to the United States. Although she said she could speak freely in China, like many people who fear official retaliation, she was only given the right to last name: Wang.

“China is very strong now,” she said.

What she means is that China can handle whoever ends up becoming the next US president.

Additional research by Charles Zhang