Chinese President Xi Jinping is unlikely to attend the US presidential inauguration in January despite an invitation from Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the planning.
China's ambassador to the US is expected to attend, and other officials from Beijing may join him, sources told CBS News, the BBC's partner in the US.
CBS first reported on the unusual invitation — records show no foreign leader has ever attended a presidential inauguration.
“This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not only allies, but our adversaries and competitors as well,” Trump spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt told Fox News.
Trump has at times praised Xi but has also strongly criticized China. He has pledged to sharply increase tariffs on imported Chinese goods when he takes office next month.
In October, Trump told host Joe Rogan: “He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. I mean, he's a brilliant man, whether you like it or not.”
A number of members of Trump's cabinet, including Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, are vocal critics of the Chinese government.
The Chinese government imposed sanctions on Rubio and prevented him from entering the country in 2020.
Waltz urged the United States to urgently end the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East “to confront the greatest threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”
US intelligence agencies recently said that China was behind the hacking of eight major US telecom companies. Hackers may have accessed the data of millions of Americans, according to the White House.
Since winning re-election last month, Trump has met with a number of foreign leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Argentine President Javier Miley, and French President Emmanuel Macron, who invited Trump to visit Paris to attend the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Although it is common for diplomats and ambassadors to attend a presidential inauguration, according to U.S. State Department records dating back to 1874, no foreign leader has ever attended an inauguration of a U.S. president.
Levitt said other foreign leaders have been invited to the inauguration, which will be held in Washington, D.C., on January 20, but he did not identify which ones.
The BBC has contacted Chinese officials and Trump's presidential transition team for comment.
