HONG KONG—China congratulated U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Friday, becoming one of the last major powers to join an international chorus of well-wishes for their election victory.
“We respect the choice of the American people,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a routine briefing. “We offer congratulations to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris.”
“We understand that the U.S. election results will be determined in accordance with U.S. laws and procedures,” Mr. Wang said. He was responding to a question about how China viewed the well-wishes Mr. Biden has received from the leaders of various countries and international bodies like the United Nations.
Beijing had largely shied from commenting on Mr. Biden’s victory after major U.S. media last weekend declared him the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential vote. When responding to a similar question on Monday, Mr. Wang didn’t offer congratulations but said China has noted Mr. Biden’s claim of victory.
Chinese academics have suggested that Beijing was being cautious, given that President Trump hasn’t conceded defeat, while his campaign has filed legal challenges to the vote counts in several states. U.S.-China relations have slumped to their lowest level in decades as the Trump administration jousted with Beijing over trade, technological competition and other issues.
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