China has extended congratulations to US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the Global Times reported.
Addressing a press briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that Beijing had been “watching the domestic and international reaction to the US presidential election”.
“We respect the choices of the Americans,” he said. “We extend congratulations to Biden and Harris.
Wang said China understands that the US election result will be decided in accordance with US laws and procedures.
Beijing’s acknowledgment of Biden’s win comes after several world leaders and representatives of international organisations congratulated Biden, who has been declared winner of the US Election 2020 held on November 3.
The Chinese official also responded to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement on Taiwan.
“China will strike back against any moves that undermine its core interests,” said Wang.
“We solemnly tell Pompeo and his ilk, that any behaviour that undermines China’s core interests and interferes with China’s domestic affairs will be met with a resolute counterattack by China,” he said, without elaborating.
Speaking in a US radio interview on Thursday, Pompeo said: “Taiwan has not been a part of China”.
“That was recognised with the work that the Reagan administration did to lay out the policies that the United States has adhered to now for three-and-a-half decades,” he said.
The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and officially only acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of it, rather than explicitly recognising China’s claims.
