List Of World Leaders Who Have Not Acknowledged Joe Biden's Victory At US Presidential Elections

While many world leaders were quick to congratulate Joe Biden on his US election victory, others have still not done so.

Several prominent figureheads who have maintained warm relations with President Donald Trump have remained notably silent following the Democrat's historic win alongside running mate Kamala Harris.

Here are some of the most notable leaders yet to have offered their well wishes.

Xi Jinping, China

The Chinese president is yet to congratulate the president-elect, two days after the result was declared.

At a Ministry of Foreign Affairs daily press conference in Beijing, a spokesperson said simply: "We noticed that Biden has declared victory.

"We understand the US election result will be delivered following US laws and procedures."

It said China would "follow international customary practices" in regards to making a statement.

Xi Jinping was quick to congratulate Mr Trump on his election victory in 2016, but his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton had already conceded - which isn't the case this time.

Vladimir Putin, Russia

There has also been no immediate reaction from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was friendly with Mr Trump.

He waded into Mr Trump's impeachment trial last year, defending the president and describing the situation as "far-fetched" and "fabricated".

Mr Trump sparked outrage on both sides of the political divide in Washington following his first summit with Mr Putin.

The US president was accused of "treasonous" behaviour during a 2018 news conference with his Russian counterpart in Finland, in which he contradicted his own intelligence officials over alleged meddling by Moscow in the election that put him in the White House.

Kim Jong Un, North Korea

Donald Trump and Mr Kim met on three different occasions, and were said to have exchanged almost 30 letters during the past four years.

Despite the summits, there has been little movement from North Korea to cut back its nuclear weapons programme.

And on the other side, the US has not lifted key economic sanctions on the reclusive regime.

The North Korean dictatorship did not get along with Barack Obama, at one point making racist remarks about Joe Biden's former boss.

Last year, Mr Biden called Mr Kim "a murderous dog". The North Korean leader responded that Mr Biden was a "rabid dog" who should be "beaten to death with a stick".

In the homeland of First Lady Melania Trump, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa congratulated Mr Trump on a victory before all votes were counted.

He has continued to show support for the president, despite Mr Biden being announced the winner.

It was reported on Monday that the First Lady has urged her husband to concede the election.

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has been an ally

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, nicknamed "Trump of the Tropics" for his shared brusque style, has been an ally of the US leader.

Mr Bolsonaro even took aim at Mr Biden following the first TV debate in the presidential race after the former vice president said Mr Trump needed to push Brazil to do more to protect the Amazon.

The Brazil leader dubbed Mr Biden's statement as "disastrous".

But Mr Bolsonaro is said to be distancing himself from Mr Trump after the election result, reportedly saying he is "not the most important person in the world", according to The Washington Post.

"The most important person is God," Mr Bolsonaro was quoted as saying.

China is taking its time so it can't be accused of interfering

When Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, China was quick to offer its official congratulations.

President Xi Jinping said he looked forward to working with Mr Trump - a sentiment that surely did not survive the last four fractious years.

On this occasion, China is taking its time. At a daily press conference, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was asked why China hadn't congratulated Biden on his win.

The response was non-committal and characteristically dry: "We noticed that Biden has declared victory.

"We understand the US election result will be delivered following US laws and procedures."

Why the delay?

It's probably less a slight on Biden than caution from China around an election that they do not see as truly settled.

In 2016, Mrs Clinton had already conceded the election. Mr Trump has done no such thing.

Second, China may well be aware of its own influence.

Imagine the hay Mr Trump could make if China announced it saw Biden as the winner: the Chinese Communist Party interfering in a US election on behalf of 'Beijing Biden'.

That's also coupled with a deeply held diplomatic tradition of not (publicly) interfering in other countries' affairs - China's go-to line whenever another country criticises it.

But there are signs China is getting ready for the Biden administration.

Chinese state media has been quick to swoop on a humble Beijing noodle shop that Mr Biden visited as vice president in 2011.

The shop's owner, Yao Long, called Mr Biden "an old friend", according to the Global Times, and said: "I sincerely congratulate him on being elected US president, as he once was a guest in our restaurant."

It's not quite an official endorsement, but this sort of noodle diplomacy has its place as China looks ahead.

Mr Biden is unlikely to match Mr Trump's often vicious rhetoric on China.

But he will be more likely to gather allies around him, whatever his strategy.

And he has pledged to rejoin the WHO and the Paris Climate Agreement, a recommitment to multilateral agencies and agreements that China has recently dominated.

Biden's policies are hardly music to Russia's ears, but they're less erratic than Trump's

President Vladimir Putin is adopting a position of reserve vis-a-vis the newly elected, soon-to-be leader of the free world.

His press secretary told reporters on Monday that the Russian leader would only congratulate the US president-elect after the results are officially summed up. So not for some time.

Joe Biden has made it abundantly clear that he considers Mr Putin a dangerous man, in charge of a regime that he called on the campaign trail the "biggest threat to US security".

According to an article in the New Yorker, he told the Russian president after the two men met at the Kremlin in 2011: "I'm looking into your eyes, and I don't think you have a soul".

To which Mr Putin replied with a smile: "We understand one another."

The two men epitomise everything the other opposes - liberal democracy versus authoritarianism.

Mr Biden has declared it his mission to reinvigorate the values-based, liberal international order that Mr Putin has called "obsolete".

The US president-elect has promised to champion NATO, lend US support to civil society in autocracies such as Russia and to crack down on illegal money flows that facilitate kleptocratic regimes. Hardly music to the Kremlin's ears.

Nevertheless, with Mr Biden as president, the Kremlin will at least know where they stand. No more of the erratic, unpredictable foreign policy determinations of Donald Trump.

Mr Biden has made clear he wants to extend the New START treaty, which limits each country's nuclear arsenals, due to expire two weeks after he assumes office and which the Kremlin has been pushing for.

He will also re-examine US engagement with the Iran Nuclear Deal, which Russia and European allies are committed to.

These are stepping stones to engagement which, if it is unlikely to improve what can only be described as dire bilateral relations, will at least provide some common ground between the world's foremost nuclear powers.