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US Election 2020: How the world is reacting to knife-edge vote

US Election 2020: How the world is reacting to knife-edge vote

A US presidential election always courts massive global interest, with the eventual winner playing a leading role on the world stage.

In fact, the decision of the American people every four years can transform the country's foreign policy and its approach to its allies and enemies alike.

So it's no wonder that countries around the world have been paying close attention to the neck-and-neck race for the White House.

Our colleagues from BBC Monitoring have rounded up the global reaction so far.

Relations between the US and China, which are longstanding rivals and duelling economic powers, have sunk to their lowest level in decades.

And both candidates in this election have pledged to be strong in dealing with Beijing.

With this in mind, it's perhaps unsurprising that Chinese state media branded this a "divisive, tense and chaotic" election marred by "unrest, mud-slinging and money politics".

"Many media and people worry that if the election is contested, it may trigger chaos and even social unrest," China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the state broadcaster CCTV featured a video report which focused on fears of post-election violence. "There is deep concern about continued social unrest," the report said.

The government, however, has said very little. On Wednesday, a spokesman said it had "no position" on the election.

In Russia, the state-run TV news channel Rossiya 24 has been giving blanket coverage to the election. "We are continuing to follow the madness," one of the presenters said earlier.

It's worth remembering that US intelligence believe Russia tried to sway the 2016 election in favour of Mr Trump, an accusation Moscow has repeatedly denied.

But the two anchors on Rossiya 24 joked about potential accusations of bias towards the incumbent president. "Some comrades... will listen to us now and conclude that we have already declared Trump the winner," one presenter said, to which the other replied: "It is pure mathematics, nothing more."

There has been no official comment from the Russian government, but the pro-Kremlin politician Vyacheslav Nikonov was unafraid to revel in the uncertainty surrounding the result.

"Whoever wins the legal battles half of Americans will not consider them the lawful president," he wrote on Facebook. "Let's stock up on large quantities of popcorn."

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany's Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer warned that the US was facing a "very explosive situation".

She said President Trump, who has vowed to challenge the election result in the courts, risked triggering "a constitutional crisis in the USA".

"[This is] something that must deeply concern us," she added.

Surveys suggest President Trump - who once claimed he'd charmed Chancellor Angela Merkel - remains deeply unpopular in Germany. And it is well reported that the government in Berlin has struggled to establish a strong working relationship with the Trump administration.

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