Biden wins Arizona, cementing lead

Democrat Joe Biden, who leads by more than 5 million in the United States' popular vote, cemented his victory late on Thursday by winning Arizona, local networks said, flipping the state Democratic for the first time since 1996.

Arizona gives Biden a 290-217 lead over US President Donald Trump in the Electoral College, with 270 needed to win the White House, according to major media outlets.

Wang Wenbin, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, on Friday extended congratulations to Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris, saying China respected the choice of the US people.

He told a regular news conference that China has been following US domestic and international reactions to the Nov 3 election.

"We understand the presidential election results will be determined in accordance with US laws and procedures," he said.

It's been more than a week since the election, and US major media outlets have projected Biden as the winner.

There is no evidence of compromised ballots or corrupt voting systems in the US election, US officials said on Thursday.

Their messages came hours after Trump once again cried foul, retweeting a claim that an election equipment maker "deleted" 2.7 million votes for him nationwide. But he didn't provide any evidence. It was the latest in a series of bogus assertions Trump and Republicans have put forth in order to reject Biden's victory.

GOP lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have stood firm with Trump by supporting his refusal to concede and backing his legal challenges.

With most Republican lawmakers having yet to acknowledge Biden's win, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the chamber's top Democrat, accused them on Thursday of "denying reality" and "auditioning for profiles in cowardice".

Pompeo's trip

After refusing to acknowledge Trump's loss in the election, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on Friday leaving for Europe and the Middle East, where many leaders have congratulated Biden.

The seven-nation trip is aimed at shoring up the outgoing Trump administration's priorities and will include visits to Israeli settlements in the West Bank that have been avoided by the country's previous secretaries of state.

Pompeo's trip comes days after he raised eyebrows by dismissing a reporter's question about the presidential transition by saying "there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration".

He appeared to be speaking in jest and went on to say, in a more serious tone, that the world should be assured that the State Department will be functional and successful with the president who takes office on Jan 20. But those comments and subsequent statements in interviews with conservative media did not acknowledge that it's Biden who will become president then.

Pompeo's weeklong tour will take him to France, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The leaders of each of those countries have offered public congratulations to Biden.

Four of those countries－France, Turkey, Georgia and Qatar－have had a fractious relationship with the Trump administration and it was not clear if Pompeo would hold public engagements with any of their leaders.

Biden has already spoken with the leaders of Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea and fielded congratulatory notes on social media and elsewhere from others.

Agencies via Xinhua, Mo Jingxi and Cui Haipei in Beijing contributed to this story.