Custom has it that as soon as an election result becomes clear, other heads of state send warm wishes to the newly elected leader. Four days after the U.S. television networks called the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the governments of Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have sent congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden. So have Australia, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea in the Pacific. In the Middle East and South Asia, even countries that U.S. President Donald Trump courted during his presidency, such as India, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, are calling Biden the president-elect. But China has not yet acknowledged Biden’s victory.
Most Chinese-language media reports are treating Biden’s victory as a foregone conclusion. But they are also disturbed by Trump’s refusal to concede and see a real risk that he could try to retaliate against China before leaving office. Beijing seems to have determined that the safest approach is to wait Trump out, preparing for a Biden presidency while humoring Trump’s claims that the election result is still undetermined.
