Other leaders who congratulated Trump as results continued to roll in on Wednesday included India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described Trump as a friend, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed hope that the election would lead to the end of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and Argentina’s Javier Milei.

The government of Iran, one of the US’s most steadfast foes, insisted Iranians’ livelihood would not be affected by the US election, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported.

Trump has promised to impose massive tariffs on all Chinese goods. But in a routine press briefing, China’s ministry of foreign affairs said Beijing respected “the American people’s choice”.

Speaking to reporters, a senior Taiwanese official expressed hope that Trump would continue US policy of defending the island from a potential Chinese invasion.

There has been no official statement from North Korea, but analysts believe Kim Jong Un is invested in the US electoral outcome, because it could reopen the possibility of talks.

Kim held three historic meetings with Trump when he was president. In the run-up to the first summit, he announced that Pyongyang would be halting missile and nuclear tests.

Since the failure of those talks, the reclusive country has continued expanding its nuclear weapons programme, despite UN sanctions.

Leaders from across the African continent have also congratulated Trump, with South African President Cyril Rhamaphosa saying: “I look forward to continuing the close and mutually beneficial partnership between our two nations.”

During his first term, Trump did not visit Africa, drawing criticism for his limited engagement with the continent.