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Chinese President Xi Jinping will send a high-level envoy to attend Donald Trump's inauguration, in an unprecedented move aimed at reducing friction between the two countries at the beginning of the new US administration.
Beijing told Trump's transition team that the senior official would attend in Xi's place, according to several people familiar with the talks. The envoy will also hold talks with Trump's team, several people said.
Trump extended an unusual invitation to Xi to attend his inauguration on January 20, indicating that he intends to resume the kind of high-level dealings with the Chinese leader that he had during his first term in the White House.
Beijing is desperately seeking to ease friction with Washington as it prepares for a potentially dangerous escalation in trade tensions. Chinese officials have had difficulty meeting Trump's advisers in the run-up to the US election in November, raising concerns in Beijing that they will be unprepared for any shift in policy. China.
Several people said Xi may send Han Zheng, the vice president who sometimes replaces him in ceremonial roles. The other option is Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
A person familiar with the situation said some Trump The advisers wanted Tsai Qi, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee who wields far more power than Han or Wang as Xi's right-hand man.
Another person familiar with views within the transition team said there was some concern that Trump would not be happy if the envoy was only on the level of Wang or Han given that he invited the Chinese leader.
“The Chinese need to send the right level of officials to get the relationship started on the right foot,” that person said.
One Chinese expert said Wang would not be seen as high-ranking enough because he ranked lower than Tsai and Han and was a career diplomat.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not comment. Trump's team did not respond to requests for comment.
The presence of any official would be unprecedented, given that China was previously represented by its ambassador in Washington.
“Trump may be viewed as too unpredictable for Xi to take the domestic risk by attending in person,” said Dennis Wilder, a former White House senior China adviser. By sending a high-profile special envoy to hold meetings with Trump and his government, Xi can demonstrate his willingness to engage with the Trump administration without risking the possibility of returning home empty-handed or publicly embarrassed.
In addition to the ceremonial element, the Chinese envoy will also hold substantive discussions with Trump's new team, several people said.
Beijing is preparing for unrest with Washington, especially after Trump appointed a series of China hawks to senior national security positions.
Both Mike Waltz, Trump's incoming national security adviser, and his deputy, Alex Wong, are seen as being too tough on China. Trump also appointed Republican Senator Marco Rubio, one of the most prominent hawks in Congress on China, as Secretary of State.
Trump said this week that his team is already in contact with Beijing. “We were speaking through their representatives,” Trump said in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Radio Show, when he also blamed China for the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
