Big-mouthed clown? China reacts to Donald Trump's rise

For months, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted China on the campaign trail, pledging to put tariffs on goods produced overseas and bring things like iPhone production back to the United States.

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Trump has even used a broken-English accent at a campaign rally to mock the negotiating style of Chinese businessmen.

Beijing had previously downplayed any impact Trump's rhetoric could have on U.S.-China relations, reducing it as a mere "disturbance."

But this week, that all changed.

With Trump securing major victories on the road to the White House, China issued a scathing criticism of the U.S. election process and the candidate who has "opened a Pandora's box in U.S. society."

 China's state-owned Global Times newspaper condemns the billionaire candidate as "big-mouthed" and "abusively forthright."

The Global Times claims Trump was initially supposed to "act as a clown to attract more voters for GOP." Instead, it goes on to imply that the Republican party lost control of Trump -- who has now become the party's worst nightmare.