Politics

China’s Xi Jinping congratulates Joe Biden on US election victory

Beijing, Nov 26 (efe-epa).- Chinese premier Xi Jinping congratulated Joe Biden on his recent election as United States president, state media reported Thursday.

“We hope both sides will maintain a spirit of mutual benefit and respect, and not of confrontation or conflict; focus on cooperation, manage their differences, and promote a stable and healthy development of China-US relations,” Xi said in a Wednesday message.

According to the Chinese president, this last point “not only obeys the interests of both peoples, but is also the common expectation of the international community.”

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan congratulated US Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris.

On Nov. 13, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin congratulated Biden and Harris, although he did not address them as winners of the elections.

In a dialectical juggling exercise, Wang said, “We respect the choice of the American people and convey our congratulations to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris. We understand that the outcome of the American elections will be decided according to their laws and procedures.”

Beijing and Washington maintain tense relations that have been deteriorating rapidly since March 2018, when outgoing US President Donald Trump launched a trade war.

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

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

jt/lds

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