Xi Jinping sends China vice-president to Donald Trump’s inauguration
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Chinese president declines US president-elect’s unusual invitation but sends special representative Han Zheng. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will not attend Donald Trump’s inauguration, but he is sending his vice-president, Han Zheng, as his special representative.
The decision, announced on Friday in China by the foreign ministry, came more than a month after Trump extended the unusual invitation to Xi, a break from tradition since no heads of state have previously made an official visit to the US for the inauguration.
“We stand ready to work with the new US government to enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relations and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other,” the ministry’s spokesperson said when announcing the decision.
Other foreign leaders have spoken about being invited to Trump’s inauguration, including the Argentinian president, Javier Milei, and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. The offices of the Ecuadorean president, Daniel Noboa, and the Paraguayan president, Santiago Peña, have also said they were invited and were planning to attend.
Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think-tank Stimson Center, said the move by Xi meant “China is willing to forego protocol and cater to what Trump wants.”. “It indicates that China is willing to talk, negotiate and make efforts to reach deals,” Sun wrote.
