China's President to Biden: Here's What We Expect

Xi Jinping has called it. The Chinese president congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden Wednesday on his election victory and expressed hope for "win-win cooperation" amid conflicts over trade, technology, and security, reports the AP. There was no explanation for the delay—the AP declared Biden as the victor on Nov. 7—but some commentators suggest Beijing might want to avoid straining relations with President Trump, who hasn't yet conceded. China's foreign ministry had offered "tentative" congratulations to Biden on Nov. 13, per Axios.

In his congratulatory message, Xi told Biden that "healthy and stable" relations were "the common expectation of the international community," according to a statement carried by Xinhua. "We hope the two sides will uphold the spirit of nonconflict and nonconfrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation, will focus on cooperation, control differences, and promote healthy and stable development of Chinese-US relations," the statement said. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan also called Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, per Axios, which reports the leaders of Brazil, Mexico, and Russia have yet to congratulate Biden. (More China stories.)