Beijing is on high alert as a race to the White House enters its final days.

Chinese observers and officials warned that US-China relations have entered one of the most unpredictable and dangerous periods in decades.

Chinese political and security analysts fear a close race, whether President Trump or the Biden Democratic candidate fails, will cause a constitutional crisis, chaos and violence.

"Both candidates use China as 'sandbag' during the campaign and they can continue to see China as the 'trump card', especially as soon as the election is over,"

Despite Beijing's silence with the US election, notably limited commentary on candidates, the Chinese issue has been pushed to be central to the second presidential debate session.

If there is a lesson regarding the final presidential debate, it will be that China is increasingly seen as a domestic problem for Americans.

Deng said that the next 2-3 months is probably the most dangerous period in the US-China relationship, especially if Biden wins narrowly.

However, Bonnie Glaser, senior Asia advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) disagrees.

While re-starting relations between the two powers is increasingly unlikely in the first few months after the election, whoever wins the election, observers say, China is ready for even a "nightmare scenario".

However, former Chinese Ambassador to Britain Ma Zhengang expressed confidence that China was ready for scenarios related to the US election, which focused more on future bilateral relations instead of contested.

According to Ma, the re-election of Trump is not necessarily bad for China because of Trump's role in undermining relationships with allies and Washington's ability to lead globally.

"I do not think there will be any fundamental change in bilateral relations or American policy towards China after the election because the key to the hostility between the two sides is the shift of the balance.

This is a modal window.

Beginning of dialog window.

End of dialog window.

Many experts believe China wants Trump to be re-elected despite short-term turmoil and instability.

Gennady Rudkevich, associate professor of political science at the University of Georgia, said that Trump's "America first" policy caused the United States to confront many potential partners, undermining its position in the world.

"In the long run, China benefits if Trump takes power for another term. But in the short term, China may not like dealing with an unpredictable and belligerent America," he said.

Philippe Le Corre, a research fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, said China embraced Trump's election victory in 2016 as the failure of Western democracy to deal with global problems.

Beijing is even more concerned by Biden's comments on America's global leadership and relations with allies, said Robert Sutter, professor of international relations at George Washington University.

Meanwhile, the neighboring countries with China are closely watching the election.

Tanvi Madan, senior research fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that the US election will have particularly serious consequences because it will determine the US position with China as well as the US involvement in matters.

"Delhi will consider what the American choice of November 3 means to US power and goals as this will determine how Beijing will act in the region and on.

However, according to Professor Sutter, any change in US policy will hardly happen quickly.

This is a modal window.

Beginning of dialog window.

End of dialog window.