A wave of attacks on China by Republican candidates has emerged as the US presidential election campaign intensifies. Among them, real estate tycoon Donald Trump and former governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker are pretty striking. They not only pointed their fingers at the devaluation of the yuan, but also criticized the plunging Chinese stock market. They were quite critical about the upcoming meeting between state leaders from China and the US and uttered suggestions that the White House will not accept. The Chinese people find it bizarre that serious presidential elections have become a sideshow for candidates of questionable quality.

Some Chinese netizens mocked Trump as a "broken bed," according to a homophone of his name. The nickname is in vogue with netizens.

In comparison, Chinese officials are prudent in voicing their opinions or criticizing their foreign counterparts. China takes a non-confrontational position without tangling with trouble-making foreign politicians. However, in international discourse, we can only hear their criticism of China with few responses from China.

On China's Internet, some netizens have their own style to mock Western politicians, which can be seen as a special way to counter them.

This reminds non-officials that they can adopt an active manner to respond to politicians like Trump.

The West is not free of problems. We can pick up on this. We should encourage people to speak up so as to exert pressure on the West to respond, instead of simply letting the West point its fingers at China without doing anything about it.

Ideological accusations from the West come constantly, and being tolerant is not a wise strategy.

China needs plenty of social elites and senior scholars who can take this fight to the West, which has to take their words seriously.

Such moves will have some barriers in China. There are people on the Internet who cling to Western ideologies. They will launch an attack on those who criticize the West. But in the US, China bashers face no political risk. Celebrities like Trump don't have to pay a heavy price for what they say about China.

China should have people who are able to deal with offensive politicians like Trump. A China that is too self-constrained can hardly have its say on the world stage. China should keep its manners, but at the same time, it should be able to respond to any provocations at ease.