US election live: Trump to choose personnel in ‘days and weeks ahead’; Harris says ‘do not despair’ in concession speech

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Back to China: both Republican Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris had pledged to get tougher on Beijing.

But Trump upped the ante, vowing to slap 60% tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the United States.

That proposal could hit $500bn worth of Chinese exports, asset managers PineBridge Investments have suggested.

In his first message to Trump since the former president secured a second term in office, Chinese leader Xi said he hoped “that both sides will uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation”.

Chinese vice-president Han Zheng also sent a message to vice president-elect JD Vance, CCTV said.

Democrat Raul Ruiz re-elected to House

Democratic Representative Raul Ruiz won reelection to a US House seat representing California on Wednesday. Ruiz was first elected to the House in 2012 when he defeated Republican incumbent Mary Bono.

His district encompasses all of Imperial County and parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the cities of Indio, Coachella, Calexico, Hemet and Needles. A physician, Ruiz worked in the emergency department at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. He defeated Republican Ian Weeks.

US, China must 'get along’, Xi tells Trump

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday said Beijing and Washington must find a way to “get along” in a message to US president-elect Donald Trump, state media said.

Trump’s victory heralds a possible shift in US-China relations, frayed in recent years by tensions over everything from trade to the status of the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

In a congratulatory message to Trump, Xi “pointed out that history has shown that China and the United States benefit from cooperation and suffer from confrontation”, state broadcaster CCTV said.

“A stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship is in the common interest of both countries and is in line with the expectations of the international community,” Xi said.

He called for Washington and Beijing to “strengthen dialogue and communication” and “properly manage differences”.

The two countries must “find a correct way … to get along in this new era, to benefit both countries and the world”, Xi said.

Opening summary

Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of the US election.

After decisively winning the presidential election, US president-elect Donald Trump will select personnel to serve under his leadership and enact policies that “make the life of Americans affordable, safe, and secure” in the days and weeks ahead, his campaign said on Wednesday.

Earlier, Kamala Harris conceded the election to Trump, delivering a speech at her alma mater, Howard University, telling supporters not to despair, and saying, “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign.”

Here are the other key recent developments:

• Trump has won every key swing state that has been called – Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Nevada and Arizona haven’t been called yet but appeared to be leaning Republican.

• Republicans now have a Senate majority, which will give Trump far more leverage to enact his legislative agenda and, crucially, confirm judicial and executive nominees.

• Control of the US House of Representatives remains unclear, with many of the most competitive races still uncalled.

• Joe Biden, who ended his campaign for a second term in July and endorsed Kamala Harris, only to see her lose to Donald Trump yesterday, paid tribute to his vice-president in a just-released statement.

• Donald Trump’s campaign said the president-elect had spoken to Joe Biden, and accepted his invitation for a meeting to discuss transitioning between administrations at the White House.

• Initial analysis suggests that Black women remain the most reliable Democratic voters while Harris suffered significant losses among both Latino women and men.

• Special counsel prosecutors will shut down their criminal cases against Donald Trump before he takes office, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

• Abortion rights supporters celebrated a handful of victories on Tuesday night, as several states voted to enshrine protections for the procedure into their constitutions.

• Trump has received calls and congratulations from across the globe, including from Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Benjamin Netanyahu.

• The Obamas, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and other high-profile Democrats and progressives have released statements addressing the stunning loss.

• The former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, who is now ambassador to the US, has deleted social media posts critical of president-elect Donald Trump to avoid the comments “being misconstrued”, officials confirmed.

• The House speaker, Mike Johnson, is running for re-election, he announced in a letter late on Wednesday, and the House majority leader, Steve Scalise, is running for his position again. In his own letter, Scalise outlined the Republicans’ plans for their first 100 days in government. The priorities include, “lock in the Trump tax cuts”, “unleash American energy” and “surge resources to the southern border”, among other measures, Scalise writes.