“We respect the choice of the American people,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. “We congratulate Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris.” Coming nearly a week after the Biden-Harris ticket won, China was one of the last global superpowers to recognize the incoming administration.
Parting with President Donald Trump’s administration must be, in a certain respect, disappointing to Chinese leaders. Trump has continually given them the opportunity to criticize America. His continued failures have even earned him a popular nickname on Chinese social media: Chuan Jianguo (川建国), or “Build-the-Country Trump.” The sarcasm is palpable. If President Trump has built any country up on the international stage, it has certainly not been his own.