Cui: China ready to improve US relations before election

As US Democratic and Republican candidates make final dashes for the presidency, Beijing's top envoy in Washington said China would not "waste time" waiting for the outcome of the election but stands ready to work with the current administration to resolve problems straining bilateral relations.

"Maybe some people believe that China is just waiting for the result of the US presidential election in November. Let me make it very clear here: We are not waiting for anything, and we are never willing to waste time in waiting," Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said.

The remarks, made during a webinar with a score of US scholars and former US government officials at the Brookings Institution a week ago, were released by the Chinese embassy on Wednesday.

Fewer than 80 days before the election, the Democrats have nominated former vice-president Joe Biden to attempt to deny President Donald Trump another four years in the White House.

There have been conflicting reports about which candidate China may support, though Beijing has repeatedly said it has no interest in other nations' domestic affairs.

Presidential campaigns also have tied bilateral relations to the election, with each side attempting to position itself as tougher on China than its rival.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has claimed that China is waiting until the November election for further action on the trade talks.

Navarro told reporters Wednesday that China is now "betting, putting their bet behind Joe Biden, and they're going to wait until after the election for any future negotiations; that's very clear that's what their strategy is".

Cui noted that American domestic dynamics are "well beyond what we can predict or influence".

"We have no intention or interest to get involved," Cui said. "We are ready to work with the current administration to search for solutions to existing problems anytime, anywhere, even today or tomorrow."

Tensions between the two countries have run high this year, with some US hawks promoting an alternative view of bilateral relations — that engagement was a mistake; and they are obsessed with great-power competition and strategic rivalry.