China expects the incoming U.S. president -- at this stage, likely Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden -- to work with it to mend diplomatic and political ties damaged by president Donald Trump.
In a news conference is Beijing Thursday, Vice-Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said China is counting on the incoming U.S. administration to meet China halfway. It also hopes the next president will manage U.S. differences with China and advance China-U.S. ties along the right track.
"The Chinese attitude on China-U.S. relations is clear and consistent," said Le. "Although there are disagreements between China and the U.S., there is vast room for mutual benefit and cooperation. (I) hope the new U.S. administration will meet China halfway."
That approach should include "upholding a principle of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation," according to Le.
While Le didn't mention Biden by name, the tenor of his message and the words chosen seem to indicate China sees Biden as ultimately seizing the presidency from Trump.
Le hopes the election will proceed smoothly and successfully while noting the election hasn't been called and vote counting continues.
"Maintaining and promoting the healthy and stable growth of China-U.S. relations is in line with the fundamental interests of the people of both countries and serves the common expectation of the international community," he said.
Some American political pundits assert a Biden administration will abandon Trump's failed go-it-alone diplomacy and revert to America's traditional model of forming alliances to attain its geopolitical goals.
Others contend America's policy toward China will retain, to some degree, the adversarial bent emphasized by Trump.
"The truth of the matter is that being tough on China is what unifies us in a polarized nation right now," said Clete Willems, former top White House trade negotiator, on CNBC. "We're polarized in our politics but we are not polarized on China."
Trump and his surrogates have also increased its political pressure against the Communist Party of China (CPC) in an effort to drive a wedge between it and the Chinese people.
The high drama surrounding the neck-to-neck presidential race in the U.S. however, has hardly had any impact on Chinese media.
Chinese state media has been quite silent on the election in contrast to the buzz it keeps generating online and in privately run media outlets.
