No... React is a fundamentally new way of working with the DOM, normalizes many cross browser pain points, and allows one to write their UI declaratively such that total control is retained and state mutations are predictable.
No other major view libraries had successfully done that before React was released. I've used angular and ember as well - their view layers suck.
It ensures that any browser that isn't from google, apple, mozilla, or microsoft in the last year will simply not work, avoiding them significant support burdens!