However, observers say Obama's policies are more appealing to ordinary voters.

"Obama pushed for policies in 2008 to reduce burdens on the middle class and the poor, expand exports, increase employment and support quantitative easing. These all have direct appeal for average people who make up a large percentage of qualified voters," Liu said to Beijing Review.

Tao said that in light of the latest financial crisis, Democrats have shown their ability to deal with economic issues. Appropriate state intervention is necessary for maintaining an economy's normal functioning.

The Federal Reserve recently announced the third round of quantitative easing (QE3), which is welcomed by Democrats but opposed by Republicans.

"QE3 has taken effect on stimulating U.S. economic activity, though it might cause problems for other economies. The U.S. stock market clearly rebounded due to the stimulus. If the economy continues to improve in the weeks ahead, it would greatly benefit Obama's reelection campaign," said Zhou.

Old tricks

After a relatively peaceful 2008 election in terms of the topic of China, this year China is again a target of attack by candidates of the two parties.

Tao said China-bashing has long been a tactic of the two U.S. parties during election years.

Since the early stages of the campaign, Romney vowed he would label China as a "currency manipulator" on his first day as president in the White House. He also criticized Obama for being weak when dealing with China issues.

In the meantime, Obama raised his hard-line rhetoric against China. During a recent campaign trip to the industrial Midwest, he accused China of unfairly subsidizing its auto sector exports, showing the U.S. escalation of the trade spat with China in a move to attract working class voters.

"It's a transparent attempt to scapegoat China by holding it responsible for the so-called trade imbalance between the two countries and the gloomy job market in the United States," said Liu. "They are just words used during the election season to gain votes."

The policy statement on the Romney campaign's official website strongly suggests that Romney would authorize the sale of advanced F-16 C/D fighter aircraft to Taiwan, which the Obama administration has eschewed thus far. "We should be coordinating with Taiwan to determine its military needs and supplying them with adequate aircraft and other military platforms," the statement says.

"As the Republican Party represents the interests of the traditional U.S. defense industry, it is more likely that Romney would bring about crises if he comes to power," said Liu.

However, Tao believes that as the bilateral relations have become more mature, no big changes will take place regardless of who wins the election.

"It is common for U.S. presidential candidates to talk tough on China policy in election years. But their words should sometimes be taken with a grain of salt," said Tao. "Washington should remember China-bashing in an age of globalized supply chains has consequences."

It is convenient for U.S. politicians to hammer China as the source of their own problems, but they should be fully aware that their words and deeds are having a negative impact on the general atmosphere of Sino-U.S.

relations and could eventually weigh down the whole world if they go unchecked.

"It is not a good tactic to target China in the campaign. It could poison bilateral relations and hurt bilateral cooperation. Some of the speeches of the candidates have not only offended Chinese people but also worried businesses in the United States," Tao added.

"Though seemingly there are different views between the two parties on some problems concerning China, their China policies have no substantial difference," said Liu. "In regard to the United States' strategic shift in its focus to the Asia Pacific, the two have already come to consensus."

Email us at: yulintao@bjreview.com