Joe Biden’s appointment: China, Russia seek legal endorsement
Beijing/Moscow: China and Russia on Monday declined to congratulate Joe Biden as the winner of the US presidential election, saying the outcome of the American polls should be determined by the country’s laws and procedures.
China has not yet come out with an official reaction to Biden and Kamala Harris’ victory in the November 3 presidential election even though official media here are carrying out commentaries on their election.
When pointed out that China is one of the few countries which has not yet made a statement on the US presidential election results, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: We have noticed that Biden declared he is the winner of the election . Our understanding is that the outcome of the election will be determined in accordance with US laws and procedures,” he said.
Asked when will China make its statement or will it wait until President Donald Trump makes his stand clear, Wang said: We will follow international customary practices .
China is among a handful of major countries including Russia and Mexico that have not congratulated the President-elect.
Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede defeat to his Democratic challenger, Biden.
On the China-US relations which have touched a new low under Trump, Wang said: We have always advocated that China and the US should step up communication and dialogue, manage differences on the basis of mutual respect, expand cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit and promote the sound and stable development of China-US relations .
He parried a number of questions, including how China plans to deal with the trade war negotiations launched by Trump.
He, however, was more forthcoming on the victory of Kamala Harris as the first woman Vice President-elect.
When reminded about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s statement calling for greater gender equality in a recent UN conference on women and does China have any comment on Harris, Wang quoted a Chinese saying which states women hold half of the sky.
In China, there is a saying that women hold half of the sky. China has been committed to realising gender equality and advancing women’s development around the world,” he said.
Trump’s four years in power were the worst phase in China-US relations as the ruling Communist Party of China headed by President Xi struggled to deal with what China’s officials say is the most elusive and unpredictable American leader ever since the former US President Richard Nixon in 1972 established ties with the Communist nation.
Trump pushed aggressively on all aspects of US-China ties, including with his relentless trade war, challenging China military hold on the disputed South China Sea, its constant threats to Taiwan and branding coronavirus as ‘China virus” after it emerged from Wuhan in December last year.
The Biden tenure could usher in a buffering period for already-tense China-US relations and offer an opportunity for breakthroughs in resuming high-level communication and rebuilding mutual strategic trust between the two countries, the official media here quoted Chinese experts as saying.
Biden entering the White House is expected to provide an opportunity for breakthroughs in resuming high-level communication and rebuilding mutual strategic trust between the two major countries, state-run Global Times said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin also said that he won’t congratulate President-elect Joe Biden until legal challenges to the US election are resolved and the result is official, the Kremlin announced.
Putin is one of a handful of world leaders who have not commented on Biden’s victory, which was called by major news organisations on Saturday. But President Donald Trump’s team has promised legal action in the coming days and refused to concede his loss, while alleging large-scale voter fraud, so far without proof.
When Trump won in 2016, Putin was prompt in offering congratulations but Trump’s challenger in that election, Hillary Clinton, also conceded the day after the vote.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that this year is different.
Obviously, you can see that 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, he said.
The leaders of China, Brazil and Turkey also are holdouts in offering congratulations. And Mexican President Andr s Manuel L pez Obrador also said he would wait to comment until the legal challenges over the vote were resolved.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday offered a similar explanation of why President Xi Jinping has stayed silent.
We understand the presidential election result will be determined following US laws and procedures, he said.
Peskov suggested that when the time comes, a congratulations message from Putin would come with all the expected protocol.
I remind you that Vladimir Putin said more than once that he will respect any choice of American people, and will be ready to work with any chosen president of the United States, he said.
For now, Putin’s holding back allows a delay in addressing that fraught question of how to improve relations.
Although Russian politicians widely lauded Trump’s election in 2016, expecting him to make good on his promises of improving relations, his administration disappointed Moscow by enacting sanctions, expelling scores of Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal and authorizing lethal weapons sales to Ukraine.
But Russia is characteristically wary of Democratic US administrations because they tend to be more forward about criticizing Russia on human rights and democracy issues.
Biden, in a 2011 trip to Russia while vice president, epitomized that approach in a speech at Moscow Statue University, the country’s most prestigious higher education institute.
Don’t compromise on the basic elements of democracy. You need not make that Faustian bargain,” he told students. (AP/PTI)
Press Trust of India
