Chinese social media is abuzz with Trump's name as people express joy over his presence.
As an expanding authoritarian force, China has always strived to present its political framework as superior to the democracy in America.
Trump's trial has been beneficial for this narrative but also offers a glimpse into a potential risk within the Chinese Communist Party system - an elected leader facing trial by independent courts and prosecutors, charged by a jury of his peers.
Chinese propaganda outlets have attempted to utilize Trump's indictments in boosting their narrative about the decline of the United States, highlighting the drawn-out legal battle as a representation of the polarization and dysfunction in American politics.
When China awoke to the news of Trump's conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, the country's heavily monitored social media was flooded with reactions.
Weibo, similar to Twitter in China, became the burning topic, with over 120 million views by midday.
A prominent comment under a news piece by Xinhua read, "Trump's supporters, hurry up and assemble, siege the Capitol."
Another stated, "Comrade Builder Trump shouldn't be fighting alone."
During Trump's term in office, he gained the moniker of Chuan Jianguo or "Trump, the Chinese nation builder" in China. This nickname was given to signify his isolationist foreign policy and divisive domestic policies, which many believed were assisting China in moving ahead of the United States.
Under Xi Jinping, China's most assertive leader in recent decades, the country's social media platforms have seen an influx of anti-American nationalist voices.
Some nationalist influencers mocked the verdict gleefully. "It seems that a civil war in America isn't just a dream for 2024!" said one such blogger with 4 million followers.
"Although he is guilty, he can still run for president. A 'criminal' can become president - this is the foolish aspect of Western-style democracy," said another.
Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of State-run nationalistic tabloid Global Times, also chimed in.
"Of course, Chinese people are watching the spectacle with mirth," he said on Weibo. "What is everyone most interested in? First, will Trump actually go to prison? Second, can he still run for president?"
However, experts comment that Trump's conviction could present a tricky subject for Chinese state propagandists to handle.
"On one hand, it reveals a falling and fragmented American democracy. On the other hand, it demonstrates that a previous top leader can be arrested, tried by a jury of his peers, and convicted for relatively minor acts of corruption," wrote Bill Bishop, a China analyst and author of the Sinocism newsletter.
China's judicial system is clung to by the ruling Communist Party, as per legal observers, with a conviction rate hovering around 99%.
The timing of the conviction also added to the sensitivity, taking place just a few days before the 35th anniversary of Beijing's brutal clampdown on the pro-democracy Tiananmen movement in 1989, according to Bishop.
So far, Chinese state-run media outlets have been reluctant to publish such stinging commentaries that accompanied Trump's legal entanglements in the past.
Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said that Chinese state media is unlikely to amplify the coverage in the coming days.
"They don't want to condemn Donald Trump since if he becomes the president, they know the repercussions. Instead, they're probably going to use it to display the problems of the US system," said Wu, a former journalist in China.
"They need to be really cautious about that."
Read also:
Following the news of Trump's conviction, Chinese social media platforms, such as Weibo, saw an outpouring of reactions. The conviction was seen as a reflection of the fragmented American democracy by some Chinese nationalist voices.
Additionally, China's striving to present its political framework as superior to that of America was given a boost with Trump's legal battle, which was highlighted by Chinese propaganda outlets as a representation of the dysfunction in American politics.
