China ‘afraid’ of Trump winning re-election, Taiwanese defense expert says

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TAIPEI, Taiwan – A Chinese government that is poised to attack Taiwan would be "afraid" of former President Trump being elected to the White House again, a Taiwanese defense expert said.

Dr. Ming-Shih Shen, director of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s national security division, told Fox News Digital that Beijing’s ruling Chinese Communist Party likely views President Biden’s policy toward China as more moderate than Trump’s.

"If China’s attitude is…to maintain the stability and peace in [the] Taiwan Strait and increase relations between the United States and China, then either is no problem," Shen said. "But if China [shows] increased aggressive posture, I think China [would be more] afraid of Trump than Biden."

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Shen said Trump is viewed as likely to have a "very strong" response to a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan. However, it was not just Trump himself, Shen argued, but also the officials he surrounded himself with.

That includes China hawks like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Matthew Pottinger, who served on Trump’s National Security Council.

China sanctioned 28 members of the former Trump administration on the same day Biden took over the White House in January 2021, including Pompeo and Pottinger, accusing them of having "violated