US election: China congratulates Joe Biden on victory
November 13, 2020
Beijing finally broke its silence on the US election, more than one week after millions of Americans cast their ballots. Incumbent President Donald Trump has yet to concede defeat.
Trump has so far refused to concede defeat, but numerous world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have already called Biden to congratulate him on his win.
Beijing finally broke its silence during a press conference held by its foreign ministry.
"We respect the choice of the American people. We express our congratulations to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a press briefing, referring to incoming vice president Kamala Harris.
Wang said China understands "the result of the US election will be determined in accordance with US laws and procedures,"
DW's correpsondent in Beijing said China likely waited so long to be certain nothing could change.
"China would not have wanted to work with Trump having already congratulated Biden," said Mathias Bölinger. "But the Chinese state media has also portrayed this election as chaotic and symptomatic if an unreliable democratic system. And they wanted to continue that narrative."
Others still waiting
The leaders of Russia, Brazil and Mexico are still holding back, saying they are waiting for the votes to be confirmed by the US Electoral College next month.
US election: World leaders who have not congratulated Joe Biden
Some of the US’s biggest and closest allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East were quick to congratulate US President-elect Joe Biden. But there have been one or two notable exceptions who remain a bit more cautious.
Image: Alexei Druzhinin/dpa/picture-alliance
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Kremlin will refrain from commenting on Biden's victory until legal challenges to the election are resolved and the result is official. "Certain legal procedures are coming there, which were announced by the incumbent president, therefore this situation is different, so we consider it correct to wait for the official announcement."
Image: Alexei Druzhinin/dpa/picture-alliance
China acknowledges win after week delay
On November 13, China congratulated Joe Biden on his victory nearly a week after he was declared the winner of the US presidential election. "We respect the choice of the American people," China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. He added: "At the same time, the result will be confirmed according to US laws and procedures."
Image: Ju Peng/Xinhua/picture-alliance
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
The right-wing president had said he would be the first leader in the world to congratulate Donald Trump. But Bolsonaro has remained silent on Biden. "I think the president is waiting for this imbroglio over fraudulent votes to be resolved," Vice President Hamilton Mourao told reporters. Bolsonaro will congratulate Biden "at the right time" and see what happens with Trump's lawsuits.
Image: Marcos Corrêa/Presidência da República do Brasil
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
Lopez Obrador has said he was bound by the constitution from offering his congratulations to the winner until the legal disputes were sorted out, reiterating an earlier posture. "How can a president of Mexico become a judge and say: 'This
candidate won'?" Lopez Obrador told a news conference. He briefly referred to Biden as the "possible president-elect", before emphasizing Mexico took no side.
Image: Reuters/H. Romero
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un
There has been no response to Biden's results from Kim. North Korean state media has been silent on the US elections as of Monday. But Pyongyang made no mention of Donald Trump's 2016 victory either until two days after his election. In the past, Kim has called Biden "a fool of low IQ." Biden, meanwhile, has described Kim as a "thug."
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa
The far-right anti-immigration Slovenian Democratic Party leader, who prematurely hailed Trump as the winner of the election long before the vote counts were near completion, is yet to congratulate Biden. Jansa has repeated allegations of voter fraud carried out by Democrats. He has tweeted, however, that Slovenia hoped for "friendly relations" with Washington.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Leskovsek
6 images1 | 6
"We believe it's correct to wait for the official results of the elections to be announced," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump immediately after he was declared the winner based on US media projections in 2016.
But the Trump administration is refusing to recognize his victory. That is despite the fact more US media outlets projected Biden to win the battleground state of Arizona on Thursday evening.
Fox News and the Associated Press already projected Biden to win the state last week.
Trump has refused to coordinate with Biden's team to facilitate the handover of power. The federal agency in charge of allocating funds for the transition of power is also yet to recognize Biden as the winner.
