How is the U.S. presidential election playing in China?

Voters in the U.S. aren't the only people watching the final two months of the presidential election with interest. The election draws international attention, including in China.

That's where journalist and Minnesota native Adam Minter lives. He writes about China for publications including Bloomberg and has lived in Shanghai for nearly a decade.

The Chinese interest in this year's election between President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney is a sharp contrast to four years ago, he said.

The Chinese public now doesn't see much difference between Obama and Romney because both men have very similar stances when it comes to issues the Chinese care about. One of those is ongoing disputes over Chinese claims in the south China Sea, including claims to islands that have oil deposits.

The Chinese are upset that the Obama administration and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have supported American allies, which means often going against China, Minter said. Romney hasn't indicated he would do much different.

Minter adds the Chinese are generally much more interested in Americans than Americans are interested in the Chinese.