China congratulates Biden and Harris on their US election victory

“We respect the choice of the American people and extend our congratulations to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris,” said Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin.

China congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, president and vice president-elect of the United States, on Friday, November 13, on their victory in the presidential election on November 3.

“We respect the choice of the American people and convey our congratulations to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at the daily press conference.

“We understand that the outcome of the US election will be decided according to its laws and procedures,” Wang added.

It is the first time China has officially recognized the US election results, almost a week after Biden declared his victory.

Beijing and Washington have tense relations that have deteriorated rapidly since March 2018, when US President Donald Trump (who has not yet acknowledged defeat and believes there has been election fraud) started a trade war.

What began as an exchange of tariffs and negotiations to try to rebalance the trade balance (largely beaten by the Chinese side), has been extended to other sectors.

Over the months, the situation has resulted in a “cold war” that faces both powers also on a technological and strategic level, with increasingly frequent frictions in the waters of the South China Sea.

The still president of the United States has repeatedly accused China of being responsible for the covid-19 pandemic and even spoke of the “Chinese virus” in reference to the pandemic that has also hit his country hard.