After days of silence, China on Friday congratulated Joseph R. Biden Jr. on his election as President of the US, signaling a start to its relations with the incoming administration after years of hostility and distrust under President Trump.

“We express our congratulations to Biden and Harris,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s ministry of foreign affairs, said at a daily news conference, referring to Vice- President-elect Kamala Harris. “We respect the choice of the American people.”

The foreign ministry had previously sidestepped the question of when it might comment publicly on Biden’s victory, saying it would respect American laws and procedures for determining the winner of the election — a line that Wang repeated on Friday after conveying China’s congratulations.

Trump has not publicly conceded the election, and his campaign has filed lawsuits challenging the result. But that has not stopped leaders around the world from acknowledging Biden’s victory in the past week.

Many of America’s democratic allies have already spoken with Biden.

New York Times News Service