China’s president Xi calls Joe Biden to congratulate him on victory

China’s President Xi Jinping has congratulated Joe Biden for winning the US presidential election, Chinese state media reported Wednesday. 

President Xi expressed his hope for ‘healthy and stable’ development of the China-US relations during a congratulatory phone call on Wednesday, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.

Xi said this was not only in the fundamental interests of the people of both countries, but also the common expectation of the international community.

The Chinese leader call for China and the US to avoid conflicts and confrontations. He also hoped the two nations to uphold the spirit of mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

Xi said that Beijing and Washington should ‘focus on cooperating’ and ‘manage the differences’ in order for the China-US relations to develop healthily and steadily. 

China’s Vice President Wang Qishan also called Kamala Harris to congratulate her for becoming the US vice-president-elect, Xinhua said.   

Sino-U.S. relations have deteriorated to their worst in decades during incumbent U.S. President’s Donald Trump’s four years in office, with disputes simmering over issues from trade and technology to Hong Kong and the coronavirus.

In his congratulatory message to Biden, Xi said healthy ties between the world’s two biggest economies were not only in the fundamental interests of their two peoples but also expected by the international community, Xinhua reported.

China’s foreign ministry congratulated Biden on Nov. 13, nearly a week after many U.S. allies had, holding out as Trump, who is still challenging the election results, refused to concede defeat.

In 2016, Xi sent congratulations to Trump on Nov. 9, a day after that year’s election.