World leaders greet Biden

CONGRATULATIONS have been pouring in from around the world for Joe Biden after he claimed victory in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. World leaders will be closely watching how Biden plans to reshape U.S. foreign policy. Many quickly expressed a willingness to work with the President-elect and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris to develop closer ties with the U.S., after four years of President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy approach.

The Associated Press called Pennsylvania for Biden at 11:25 a.m. ET Saturday, taking him to 290 Electoral College votes in the AP count. The announcement came after days of vote counting in several key battleground states.

Trump’s campaign has yet to concede, and since Tuesday’s election day, the President has repeated false claims of voter fraud and filed several lawsuits attempting to halt vote-counting and disqualify ballots.

In his victory speech on Saturday night, Biden referenced the international impact his election would likely have, as he seeks to change course from much of Trump’s foreign policy agenda. “Tonight, the whole world is watching America,” he said. “I believe at our best America is a beacon for the globe.”

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AUSTRALIA

PRIME Minister, Scott Morrison, told Biden and Harris on Twitter that he looked forward to working with them as they “face the world’s many challenges together.”

Tensions between China and Australia have been rising in recent months over trade. Chinese state-run media recently warned Australia that it would “pay tremendously for its misjudgment” if it continued to support the U.S. government’s efforts to contain China.

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CANADA

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau expressed congratulations to the Biden-Harris campaign Saturday. “Canada and the United States enjoy an extraordinary relationship – one that is unique on the world stage,” Trudeau wrote in a statement. “We will further build on this foundation as we continue to keep our people safe and healthy from the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and work to advance peace and inclusion, economic prosperity, and climate action around the world.”

Trudeau and Trump have clashed over trade and introduced tariffs on goods from each other’s countries. It’s expected that relations may improve with a more ideologically aligned Biden government; Trudeau and Biden also had a positive relationship during Biden’s time as Vice-President in the Obama Administration.

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CHINA

PRESIDENT Xi Jinping didn’t immediately comment on the news of Biden’s victory (he did, however, issue remarks on Sunday on the construction of a railway in China).

Under Trump’s presidency, relations between the U.S. and China have reached their lowest point in decades, and experts are watching to see if a Biden presidency might cool tensions. Biden has railed against Trump’s trade war, and he could roll back many of the tariffs the Trump administration implemented.

Many internet users also watched the news with interest. The top trending topic on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo on Sunday afternoon in China was Biden’s address to the nation, with around 800 million views.

State mouthpiece the Global Times said in an article published on Sunday that a Biden presidency could “usher in a ‘buffering period’ for already-tense China-US relations, and offer an opportunity for breakthroughs in resuming high-level communication and rebuilding mutual strategic trust between the two countries.”

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EUROPEAN UNION

PRESIDENT of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Biden Saturday, saying that she “look[s] forward to meeting him at the earliest possible opportunity.”

“As the world continues to change, and new challenges and opportunities appear, our renewed partnership will be of particular importance,” von der Leyen said in a statement.

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FIJI

PRIME Minister Frank Bainimarama was one of the first foreign leaders to reach out to Biden, sending him a message of congratulations on Friday—before the election had been called in Biden’s favor. Bainimarama’s message focused on the role he hopes the U.S. will have in the fight against climate change. “Together we have a planet to save,” he said on Twitter. “Now, more than ever, we need the USA at the help of these multilateral efforts (and back in the #ParisAgreement — ASAP!). The Pacific Islands are some of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change.

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FRANCE

President EMMANUEL MACRON CONGRATULATED BIDEN AND HARRIS shortly after the announcement on Saturday. “We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let’s work together!” Macron, who had previously criticized a lack of global American leadership under the Trump administration, tweeted.

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GERMANY

CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel congratulated Biden and Harris in a statement released by her office. “I’m looking forward to working with president Biden. Our transatlantic relationship is indispensable if we are to tackle the biggest challenges of our time,” she wrote.

The first woman Chancellor of Germany, Merkel also congratulated Harris on becoming the first woman Vice President.

Merkel and Trump had an especially testy relationship, with the President pressuring Germany to spend more on defense and accusing the country of being “totally controlled by Russia.”

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INDIA

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi congratulated both Biden and Harris on Twitter, noting his past relationship with Biden and Harris’ connection to the Indian subcontinent.

Both Harris and Biden have been outspoken about India’s human rights violations under Modi, though Biden has also committed to strengthening ties with India, the world’s largest democracy.

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IRELAND

PRESIDENT Taoiseach Micheal Martin congratulated Biden and Harris, saying the pair “will make a very formidable team” and that Biden has been “a true friend of this nation throughout his life.”

Referencing Biden’s Irish heritage, Martin said he looked forward to welcoming the president “back home when the circumstances allow.”

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ITALY

PRIME Minister Giuseppe Conte congratulated Biden, as well as the American people and institutions “for an outstanding turnout of democratic vitality,” in a year that saw more Americans vote in an election than any other in U.S. history. “The U.S. can count on Italy as a solid ally and strategic partner,” said Conte in a tweet Saturday.

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JAPAN

PRIME Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged to work with Biden to ensure “peace, freedom and prosperity,” in the Indo-Pacific region. Tensions have heightened in the Asia-Pacific as China has taken an increasingly aggressive stance in the region.

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NATO

SECRETARY General Jens Stoltenberg “warmly welcome[d]” the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in a statement Saturday evening. “A strong NATO is good for North America and good for Europe,” Stoltenberg said, adding that NATO’s collective strength was needed to deal with challenges including a more assertive Russia, international terrorism, and a shift in the global balance of power with the rise of China.

The organization, an alliance of 30 North American and European countries, had a fraught relationship with the Trump Administration. During his presidency, Trump suggested the U.S. withdraw from the organization and criticized other members of the alliance for not boosting their defense spending.

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NEW ZEALAND

PRIME Minister Jacinda Ardern, who won re-election in a landslide in October for a second term, offered a message of support and collaboration. “The relationship between our two countries is strong, and I look forward to developing even closer relations with the incoming Biden Administration,” Ardern said in a statement.

“As Vice President, Joe Biden was a close friend of New Zealand and visited here in 2016, the most senior US politician to do so since President Bill Clinton attended APEC in 1999,” she said. She noted the importance of New Zealand working with the U.S. on the prosperity, security and sustainability in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific Island regions, as well on global challenges like COVID-19 and climate change.

Arden also added that “New Zealand has enjoyed positive and cooperative relations with the United States over the period of the Trump Administration, especially in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific Island regions,” Jacinda Ardern said.

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NIGERIA

President Muhammadu Buhari ina series of tweets Saturday, congratulated Biden on his election “at a time of uncertainty and fear in world affairs.” Buhari’s tweets stressed the importance of democracy, and he urged Biden to introduce greater engagement with Africa, as well as tackle “the negative consequences of nationalist politics on world affairs.”

Buhari was the first leader of a sub-Saharan African country to visit President Trump in the White House in April 2018, and the U.S. president allegedly told aides he never wanted to meet someone so “lifeless” again, according to reports. Buhari has served as President of Nigeria since 2015, and has faced criticism from Nigerians for his failure to fulfil campaign promises of fighting corruption and poverty. Police brutality has also endured during his leadership, which led to a recent wave of protests.

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PAKISTAN

PRIME Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan congratulated Biden and Harris on Saturday, saying he looked forward to working with them on some of their specific international policies including supporting worldwide democracy.

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Philippines

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte, congratulated Biden on Saturday.

“On behalf of the Filipino nation, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte wishes to extend his warm congratulations to former Vice President Joseph ‘Joe’ Biden on his election as the new President of the United States of America,” Duterte said in a statement.

“The Philippines and the United States have long-standing bilateral relations and we are committed to further enhancing the relations with the United States under the Biden administration,” the statement said.

Duterte had previously said he believes Trump deserved to win re-election.

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SOUTH KOREA

PRESIDENT Moon Jae-in sent a message of congratulations on Twitter. “Our alliance is strong and the bond between our two countries is rock-solid,” he said. “I have great expectations of advancing and opening up the future development of our bilateral relations,” he added in another tweet.

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SWEDEN

PRIME Minister Stefan Lofven congratulated Biden and Harris on their win Saturday, saying that he was “looking forward to strengthening excellent US-Swedish relations and to work jointly for multilateralism, democracy and global security.”

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TAIWAN

PRESIDENT Tsai Ing-wen congratulated Biden and Harris on Twitter. “The values on which we have built our relationship could not be stronger,” she said.

In recent months China has ramped up military drills around Taiwan. The Chinese government considers Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunited with China. Tensions between the U.S. and China have increased over Taiwan—high-level Trump Administration officials have visited the island in recent months. In late October, the State Department approved $2.37 billion in potential arms sales to Taiwan, after Beijing threatened to sanction U.S. companies involved in the sale of weapons to Taiwan.

Biden vowed in October to “stand with friends and allies to advance our shared prosperity and values in the Asia-Pacific region … That includes deepening our ties with Taiwan, a leading democracy, major economy, technology powerhouse—and a shining example of how an open society can effectively contain COVID-19.”

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UKRAINE

PRESIDENT Volodomir Zelensky congratulated Biden and Harris on Saturday. “Ukraine is optimistic about the future of the strategic partnership with the United States,” he wrote. “Ukraine and the U.S. have always collaborated on security, trade, investment, democracy, fight against corruption. Our friendship becomes only stronger!”

Ukraine played an unexpected role in the Presidential election. Trump was impeached in December 2019 on charges that he sought Ukraine’s help in his re-election effort by asking Zelensky to launch an investigation into his opponent, Joe Biden. And during the election, the Trump campaign sought unsuccessfully to find evidence linking Biden’s son, Hunter, to corrupt activities in the country.

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UNITED KINGDOM

PRIME Minister Boris Johnson is among politicians to have congratulated Joe Biden on his US election win.

He said he looked forward to “working closely” with the new president-elect.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer praised Biden’s campaign of “decency, integrity, compassion and strength”.

Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid said Biden’s win was “good news” for the UK in terms of closer co-operation on climate change, free trade and fighting the Covid pandemic.

He told Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday that Mr Johnson’s closeness to Donald Trump had been “overstated” and the Conservative government actually had more in common, in terms of policy, with his Democratic rival.

‘Important ally’

 Johnson said in a statement on Twitter on Saturday : “The US is our important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security.”

 Johnson, who has yet to meet Biden, also congratulated the president-elect’s running mate, Kamala Harris, on “her historic achievement”. She will be the country’s first female vice-president.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said  Trump had “fought hard” but that he was looking forward to working with the new administration.

“The UK-US friendship has always been a force for good in the world,” he added.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, said the result was “a great victory for social justice, climate action and democracy”.

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon also shared her congratulations, while SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the win “gives great hope to progressives here in Scotland and around the world”.

First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford tweeted that he was looking forward to working with  Biden “to build on the strong links between Wales and USA”.

(Credit: BBC)

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ISRAEL

PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Sunday, hailing a strong alliance that could be burdened by differences over policy on Iran and the Palestinians.

“Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Joe, we’ve had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel. I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the U.S. and Israel,” Netanyahu said on his Twitter account, which still carries a photograph of him and incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump at its head.

Having been in lockstep with Trump for four years, Netanyahu will likely be challenged by any departure by Biden from Trump’s tough policy on Iran and toward the Palestinians. Biden has pledged to restore U.S. involvement in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – which Trump had pulled out of – and a likely opposition by the White House to Israeli settlement of occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood.

Netanyahu thanked Trump in a subsequent tweet:

“Thank you @realDonaldTrump for the friendship you have shown the state of Israel and me personally, for recognizing Jerusalem and the Golan, for standing up to Iran, for the historic peace accords and for bringing the American-Israeli alliance to unprecedented heights.”

Netanyahu’s message came hours after many world leaders had already congratulated Democrat Biden, even as Trump refused to concede and pressed ahead with legal fights against the outcome.

A spokesman for Netanyahu did not respond to a request for comment on the relative delay. Dani Dayan, Israel’s former consul to New York said Netanyahu’s slowed response was a precautionary move.

“There is a president in the White House who has not yet acknowledged his defeat and whose whims definitely play a major role in his decision making process and he will be sitting in the White House for another two and a half months,” Dayan told Army Radio.

The right-wing Netanyahu’s particularly close ties with Trump followed an acrimonious relationship with his predecessor Barack Obama, which some critics have said had alienated Democrats and compromised U.S. bipartisan support for Israel.

Michael Oren, Netanyahu’s ambassador to Washington when Obama was president, predicted warm ties with Biden. “They will have disagreements over the peace process. They will have disagreements certainly over the Iran nuclear deal but I think their friendship is solid.”

Israel’s stock market responded positively to Biden’s win. Both the blue-chip Tel Aviv 35 index and the broader TA-125 were up about 0.3% in morning trade.

Still, among Israelis, Trump has won overwhelming popularity and many may be sad to see him go.

“I think the problem is that Biden will not be as tough or as strong as Donald Trump,” said Aaron Morali, a student from Tel Aviv. “He made it hard for the Iranian people to have a nuclear plan but I think with Biden they have someone very easy and I am very, very scared of what will happen.”

(Credit: Reuters)

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No comment: Some world leaders silent on Biden win

SEVERAL prominent leaders who maintained warm relations with US President Donald Trump have yet to wish US president-elect congratulations.

As many world leaders rushed to send President-elect Joe Biden congratulations on his projected US election victory over Donald Trump, others were notable in their silence on Sunday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would not congratulate Biden on his victory until all legal challenges are resolved.

Lopez Obrador said during a press conference he would refrain until “all legal issues [related to the election] are resolved. We don’t want to be reckless”.

The Mexican president added that his country had a good relationship with both Biden and President Trump, as he praised the sitting leader for being “very respectful of us”.

While outspoken disappointment was scarce, several prominent leaders who have maintained warm relations with Trump’s administration also kept silent on Biden’s win. That included President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.

Also noticeably absent from well-wishing were Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China Xi Jinping.

‘Lesson for Bolsonaro’

True to the confrontational style he and Trump share, Bolsonaro also clashed with Biden during the presidential race.

When Biden said during his first debate with Trump that the US needed to push Brazil to better protect the Amazon rainforest, Bolsonaro called the statement “disastrous”.

“What a shame,  John Biden!” he said, mistaking the former vice president’s first name in the English version of his tweet.

Brazil’s leading media outlets reported Trump’s defeat in the context of its own populist leader, who has similarly sought to diminish democratic institutions and reject science-based facts.

“Trump’s defeat punishes the attacks against civilisation, it is a lesson for Bolsonaro,” wrote Folha de Sao Paulo, one of Brazil’s main daily newspapers.

“May Brazil’s leaders seize the spirit of the times – or die, like Trump, who has already left it too late.”

Trump has shown no signs of willingness to concede and has made repeated unfounded allegations of significant voting irregularities, some of which have already been rejected by courts and election officials.

The Republican president promised to keep up legal battles and launch new ones on Monday. It remains to be seen if any of his efforts will succeed, but it is doubtful he will be able to overturn a growing consensus around the election result.

There also was no immediate reaction from Russia’s Putin, who was friendly with Trump. But other leaders who supported Trump – including Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, India’s Narendra Modi and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines – congratulated Biden, indicating they rejected Trump’s claim that the election was not over.

‘Punish China’

China’s rocky relationship with the Trump administration could continue under the president-elect. Biden has at times gone even further than the outgoing president in attacking China.

He has referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “thug” and sworn to lead an international campaign to “pressure, isolate and punish China.”

His campaign has also labelled China’s actions against Muslims in Xinjiang “genocide” –  a step further than current policy, with significant implications if that designation is formalised.

“The United States does need to get tough with China,” Biden said in an article published in March as the coronavirus pandemic, which was first recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan, took hold.

“The most effective way to meet that challenge is to build a united front of US allies and partners to confront China’s abusive behaviours and human rights violations.”

In the same sentence, Biden also wrote of seeking “to cooperate with Beijing on issues where our interests converge, such as climate change, non-proliferation and global health security”.

(Credit: Aljazeera)