Beijing | China on Monday called for the resumption of dialogue with the United States in order to achieve “a smooth transition” with the future administration of Joe Biden, just a month after the announcement of his electoral victory.
The Chinese power, target for four years of the vindictiveness of President Donald Trump, paradoxically seemed destabilized by the victory of Joe Biden, waiting more than a week to recognize it and send its congratulations to the Democratic candidate.
On Monday, the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, however blew the heat by addressing by videoconference to American businessmen gathered within the US-China Business Council.
“Right now, the most urgent task for both sides is to work together to remove all kinds of obstacles in order to achieve a smooth transition in Sino-US relations,” Wang said.
“We must strive to relaunch the dialogue, get back on track and rebuild confidence,” he added, according to comments posted on his ministry’s website.
Between commercial and technological confrontation, Sino-American relations have fallen under Donald Trump to their lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1979.
So much so that Wang Yi evoked last spring the specter of “the Cold War” between the two leading world economic powers.
Washington has accused Beijing in particular of being responsible for the novel coronavirus pandemic and of repressing freedoms both in Hong Kong and in its region of Xinjiang (northwest), which is predominantly Muslim.
But the regime of President Xi Jinping can also expect increased firmness from the Democratic President, who will take office at the end of January, in the area of human rights.
Regarding trade, Biden has already warned that he intends to leave in place the punitive tariffs put in place from 2018 by his predecessor on Chinese products.