Biden vs. Trump: Why don’t China and Russia recognize the election results?

The governments of China and Russia have yet to recognize or congratulate Joe Biden for winning the presidential election in the United States. The results issued based on the projections of the media in that country give him the victory. Let us remember that this is how the winner is known every four years.

The position assumed by both nations obeys a very particular point of view. It turns out that even the victory of Biden, of the Democratic party, over Donald Trump, of the Republican party, has not been officially reported or corroborated.

In the case of China, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, limited himself to answering the following: “China is aware that Biden announced that he is the winner of the election. But we understand that the outcome of those elections will be decided in accordance with the laws and procedures of the United States”, reported the EFE agency.

The Chinese spokesman added the following at a press conference from Beijing: «On the issue of the (congratulatory) statement from China, we will follow international practices».

Wang reiterated Beijing’s stance on relations with Washington, which reached their lowest level during Trump’s administration. China has always called for more dialogue, to resolve differences with mutual respect, increasing cooperation and promoting «healthy and stable» development.

The US media claims that Biden has enough votes from the Electoral Colleges to sit in the White House. But, Trump refuses to accept his defeat and warned that he will claim the electoral process in several states. The magnate considers that there was a «fraud and a rigged vote».

Russia will not congratulate the president-elect, yet

This Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov spoke about the matter during his regular press conference from Moscow. He announced that President Vladimir Putin will congratulate the president-elect in the United States, when the official results are announced.

«I want to say the following: we consider it appropriate to wait for the official information on the elections», said Peskov, quoted by EFE. Furthermore, he did so without showing any inclination toward Biden or Trump.

The Kremlin spokesman recalled that Putin “has repeatedly said that he will respect any choice made by the American people. Likewise, he will be willing to work with any president”.

Peskov stressed that, in any case, the Russian authorities hope to establish a dialogue with the next president. Rusia wishes to «jointly agree on the ways to normalize bilateral relations».

“A significant part of our bilateral relations, in particular strategic stability and security, concerns not only our two peoples. They are also of interest, de facto, to all the peoples of the world”, added the spokesman, referring to the control of nuclear weapons.

The only nuclear weapons reduction agreement in force between the two powers is START 3 or New START. Unfortunately, it will expire on February 5 and, so far, there has not been an agreement on its extension.

How Biden supposedly won

In the US, the voter ultimately does not vote directly for a candidate. So who do Americans vote for? It turns out that they vote for a handful of officials who make up an instance called the «electoral college.»

The word «college» refers to a group of people «elected» by Congress, whose task it is to determine who will be president and vice president. This body meets every four years, weeks after voting day, to carry out this task.

The number of ‘voters’ (college votes) in each state is in line with the size of its population. Thus, each state has as many voters as legislators in Congress, between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

For example, California has the largest population and with it the largest number of voters: 55. On the other hand, other sparsely populated states such as Wyoming, Alaska and North Dakota have the minimum of three.

In total there are 538 voters and each voter represents one vote. To win, a candidate must obtain a simple majority, that is, 270. Generally, a state awards all of its electoral college votes to whoever gets the most votes in that state. We invite you to read our report entitled: USA: this is how the electoral system works where the people do not elect the president.