China congratulates Joe Biden on being elected president of the United States

China today became one of the last major countries to congratulate US President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to make little change in US policy. In conflicts with Beijing over trade, technology and security.

China, along with Russia, avoided joining the crowd that congratulated Biden last weekend after he and his running mate Kamala Harris garnered enough Electoral College votes to oust President Donald Trump.

“We respect the choice of the American people,” said a Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. “We congratulate Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris.”

Wang did not give any reason for the delay, but said that “the result will be confirmed in accordance with the laws and procedures of the United States.”

Relations between the United States and China have plummeted to their lowest level in decades amid a tariff war over technology ambitions and Beijing’s trade surplus, accusations of espionage and tension over human rights, the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong and control of the South China Sea.

Trump called China a security threat and imposed export restrictions and other sanctions on Chinese companies. On Thursday, he stepped up those sanctions by issuing an order prohibiting Americans from investing in securities issued by companies that US officials say are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

Meteorologists had said that even if he lost his re-election bid, Trump was likely to try to increase pressure on Beijing before leaving office on January 20.

Political analysts hope that Biden will try to resume cooperation with Beijing on climate change, North Korea, Iran and the coronavirus. And they say Biden could pursue a more traditional and predictable policy toward China.

However, economists and political analysts expect little major change due to widespread frustration with Beijing’s business and human rights record and allegations of espionage and technology theft.

“A tough stance on China has broad support across the US political spectrum,” Oxford Economics’ Louis Kuijs said in a report this week. “Biden’s own pronouncements and policy program suggest that he will continue to try to maintain America’s technology leadership and attract manufacturing activity.”

Some forecasters suggest that the switch from Trump, who rejected multilateral alliances, to Biden could 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 Trump’s trade tactics of surprise tariff increases, which were also used against allies, but echo US complaints that China is violating its free trade commitments.

Some Chinese trade experts have suggested that Beijing could try to renegotiate the “Phase 1” agreement signed in January as a first step towards ending the trade war. He asks China to increase purchases of American products in exchange for postponing more tariff increases. But that happened before the coronavirus derailed global trade, leaving China behind in meeting its commitments.

The renegotiation could fit into a “more strategic, longer-term orientation” expected from the Biden administration, but “cannot be considered ‘soft’ on China” after the campaign’s “tough rhetoric” Kuijs said.

Chinese leaders were calmer during this year’s election than in the 2016 presidential race, when they favored Trump over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They did not like him for carrying out then-President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, which included pressuring Beijing on human rights. Trump’s public image of business success resonated with the Chinese public.

Trump shook China’s leaders by raising tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018 over complaints that Beijing steals or pressures companies to deliver technology.

The White House has lobbied its allies to exclude telecommunications equipment giant Huawei Technologies Ltd., China’s first global technology brand, from next-generation telecommunications networks on security grounds. Huawei’s access to American components and technology was cut off last year, threatening to cripple its global sales.

Trump is trying to exclude Chinese social media companies from the United States, citing fears that they may collect too much personal information about Americans. The White House is pressuring video service TikTok to sell its US operation and is trying to stop companies from dealing with WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging service.