PRESIDENTIAL POSE: A Chinese woman has her photograph taken between cardboard cut-outs of U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney at an election results event in Beijing on November 7 (WEI YAO)

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing hosted an election results event on November 7 at the Marriott Hotel Northeast, where hundreds gathered to watch live news updates covering the close U.S. presidential race. At 12:20 p.m. Beijing time, Barack Obama was announced the winner, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to earn his second term in the White House.

Much of the nearly five-hour-long event was devoted to explaining the United States' complicated electoral process to a diverse crowd of people from China, the United States and other countries.

U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke spoke to the audience and answered questions from the press about the presidential contest and its likely impact on relations between the two countries.

"The China-U.S. relationship is very, very important," said Locke. "Both countries are equally invested in one another's mutual prosperity."

A former governor of the state of Washington, Locke was appointed ambassador to China by President Obama in August 2011 following the resignation of Republican presidential primary candidate Jon Huntsman.

The first Chinese American to serve as U.S. ambassador to China, Locke reflected on Obama's 2008 victory by noting the historical significance of electing the first African American president in U.S. history. He said this year's presidential contest was "just as intense" as that of four years ago, but added that the 2012 election has been primarily shaped by "two very different sets of policies."

Mock election

A mock polling station set up at the event allowed participants to "vote" for their candidate of choice. A student in international communications at Tsinghua University named Sissy Wang expressed the crowd's general sentiment when she said, "Most people in China want Obama to win." In the U.S. Embassy's unscientific poll, at least, her assertion was backed up: a final tally showed Obama winning with 55 votes to Romney's 22.

One Romney supporter named George Guo, who works for the Asia-Pacific branch of a U.S. company, spoke with Beijing Review to offer the minority opinion. Romney's pro-business approach to politics would improve the economic climate in the United States, he said, but added that the candidate's anti-China remarks made in the presidential debate could have initially caused a few "bumps in the road" between the world's first and second largest economies.

Guo's 10-year-old son, Joshua, was one of dozens of young people in attendance. As a student keenly interested in politics, Joshua expressed hope of one day becoming the first Chinese American president of the United States.

Crowding into the spacious ballroom, American expatriates mingled with Chinese students while political junkies joined apolitical spectators as large screens broadcast live election results from international television news stations like the BBC and the CNN.

Thomas Hodges, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy, said the event allowed for a unique cultural exchange between the United States and China.

"It's an opportunity for our Chinese friends to see what the American system looks like," said Hodges.

The U.S. Embassy's social networking outreach efforts are also giving Chinese people a chance to interact with and comment on U.S. developments, added the 25-year veteran of the U.S. foreign service.