China finally congratulates Joe Biden for US election win

China has finally congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden -- nearly a week after hewas declared winner of the American election by the media networks.

China was previously among a handful of major countries including Russia and Mexico that had not congratulated the president-elect.

Beijing had initially only commented that it had "noticed Mr Biden declared he is the winner".

US-China ties have grown increasingly strained in recent years under the administration of incumbent president Donald Trump.

"We respect the choice of the American people. We express our congratulations to Mr Biden and Ms Harris," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday at a regular press briefing, referring to incoming vice president Kamala Harris.

Wang added, "China understands the result of the US election will be determined in accordance with US laws and procedures."

Meanwhile, since US media called the presidential race, Trump has not conceded to Biden as is traditional practice once a winner is projected.

Under his "America First" banner, Trump had portrayed China as the greatest threat to the United States and global democracy. His four years in the White House have been marked by a costly trade war between the two powers, with Beijing and Washington also sparring over blame for the Covid-19 pandemic and China's human rights record in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Biden, who leads by more than five million in the popular vote, cemented his victory late Thursday by winning Arizona, US networks said.

President Trump has repeatedly claimed that the election has been hindered by fraud, and Thursday retweeted a baseless claim that an election equipment maker "deleted" 2.7 million votes for him nationwide.

US election officials said there is no evidence of compromised ballots or corrupt voting systems in the US election.