China breaks silence to acknowledge Biden's US election win
China on Friday finally congratulated Joe Biden almost a week after major news outlets declared him the winner of the U.S. presidential election. Analysts expect Mr. Biden to pursue a more traditional policy toward China, but expect few major changes.
China on Friday finally congratulated Joe Biden almost a week after major news outlets declared him the winner of the U.S. presidential election. Analysts expect Mr. Biden to pursue a more traditional policy toward China, but expect few major changes.
China on Friday became one of the last major countries to congratulate United States President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to make few changes to U.S. policy in conflicts with Beijing over trade, technology, and security.
China, along with Russia, avoided joining the throng that congratulated Mr. Biden last weekend after he and vice presidential running mate Kamala Harris secured enough Electoral College votes to unseat President Donald Trump.
鈥淲e respect the choice of the American people,鈥� said a foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin. 鈥淲e congratulate Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris.鈥�
Mr. Wang gave no reason for the delay but said, 鈥渢he result will be confirmed according to U.S. laws and procedures.鈥�
U.S.-Chinese relations have plunged to their lowest level in decades amid a tariff war over Beijing鈥檚 technology ambitions and trade surplus, accusations of spying and tension over human rights, the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong, and control of the South China Sea.
Mr. Trump labeled China a security threat and imposed export curbs and other sanctions on Chinese companies. On Thursday, he stepped up those sanctions by issuing an order that bars Americans from investing in securities issued by companies U.S. officials say are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.
Forecasters had said even if lost his re-election bid, Mr. Trump was likely to try to increase pressure on Beijing before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
Political analysts expect Mr. Biden to try to resume cooperation with Beijing on climate change, North Korea, Iran, and the coronavirus. And they say Mr. Biden might pursue a more traditional, predictable policy toward China.
However, economists and political analysts expect few big changes due to widespread frustration with Beijing鈥檚 trade and human rights record and accusations of spying and technology theft.
鈥淎 tough stance on China has broad support across the U.S. political spectrum,鈥� Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics said in a report this week. 鈥淏iden鈥檚 own pronouncements and policy program suggest he will continue to try to maintain the U.S. technological lead and to attract manufacturing activity.鈥�
Some forecasters suggest the change from Mr. Trump, who rejected multilateral alliances, to Mr. Biden might increase pressure on China if Washington forms a coalition with other developed countries to push for policy changes.
China has tried to recruit Germany, France, South Korea, and other governments as allies against Washington but all have refused. They criticized Mr. Trump鈥檚 trade tactics of surprise tariff hikes, which also were used against allies, but echo U.S. complaints that China is violating its free-trade commitments.
Some Chinese trade experts have suggested Beijing might try to renegotiate the 鈥淧hase 1鈥� agreement signed in January as a first step toward ending the trade war. It calls for China to increase purchases of U.S. goods in exchange for postponing further tariff hikes. But that came before the coronavirus derailed global trade, leaving China behind on meeting its commitments.
Renegotiation might fit a 鈥渕ore strategic, longer-term orientation鈥� expected from a Biden administration, but he 鈥渃annot be seen to be 鈥榮oft鈥� on China鈥� after the 鈥渉ard rhetoric鈥� of the campaign, Mr. Kuijs said.
Chinese leaders were quieter during this year鈥檚 election than in the 2016 presidential race, when they favored Mr. Trump over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They disliked her for carrying out then-President Barack Obama鈥檚 foreign policy, which included pressuring Beijing on human rights. Mr. Trump鈥檚 public image of business success resonated with the Chinese public.
Mr. Trump shook up China鈥檚 leaders by hiking tariffs on Chinese products in 2018 over complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology.
The White House has lobbied allies to exclude telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies Ltd., China鈥檚 first global tech brand, from next-generation telecom networks on security grounds. Huawei鈥檚 access to American components and technology was cut off over the past year, threatening to cripple its global sales.
Mr. Trump is trying to bar Chinese social media companies from the U.S., citing fears they might gather too much personal information about Americans. The White House is pressing video service TikTok to sell its U.S. operation and is trying to block companies from dealing with WeChat, the popular Chinese message service.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.