Trump’s China election data claims draw Beijing denial, stir AAPI fears

President Donald Trump’s accusation that China stole 220 million American voter files to sway the 2020 election drew a sharp denial from Beijing and stirred fresh anxiety among Chinese American leaders, who fear their communities could become political scapegoats ahead of the November midterms.

Trump made the claim in a prime-time address from the White House last Thursday. He called it “what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history” and pointed to an acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files containing names, addresses, party affiliation and phone numbers. He offered no evidence for how the alleged theft might have swayed the outcome of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the accusation on Friday, with spokesperson Lin Jian calling it “a false allegation and serious smear that has long been proven to be unfounded.” A 2021 U.S. intelligence review found no evidence any foreign government, including China, had swayed the 2020 outcome. It also concluded that Beijing saw more risk than reward in trying to influence either candidate’s chances.

The speech follows a Beijing meeting between Trump and Xi two months ago. Afterward, Trump proposed a return visit to Washington in September, which Beijing has yet to confirm. It also comes amid other conciliatory signals, including the release of Zion Church founder Pastor Jin Mingri, who reunited with family in Los Angeles earlier this month after Trump raised his case with Xi in May.

Still, Beijing is unlikely to let the allegations derail its relationship with Washington. Over the years, Chinese officials have grown accustomed to Trump’s unpredictability. Additionally, the president has stalled a $14 billion Taiwan arms sale, which he has described as leverage in his dealings with Beijing. But on Capitol Hill, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said “Trump’s kryptonite is he has become a bore.”

Trump’s China-blaming brings back memories of the COVID-19 pandemic, where he repeatedly used words like “China virus” and “kung flu” to refer to the disease. The rhetoric influenced the surge in anti-Asian hate and violence, which we covered extensively at NextShark. FBI data show a 167% jump in hate crimes against Asian Americans from 2020 to 2021. Separately, Stop AAPI Hate logged nearly 11,000 anti-AAPI incidents between March 2020 and December 2021.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Manila this week for talks expected to address preparations for Xi’s planned September visit to Washington.