Chinese President Xi Jinping will send a high-level representative to the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, the British newspaper Financial Times reported on Friday.
According to the newspaper, which cited sources familiar with the situation, Beijing has told Trump’s transition team that a leader other than Xi will be present at the inauguration.
Among the options are Han Zheng, a vice president who often takes on ceremonial roles, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Some of Trump’s advisers want Cai Qi, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee who is seen as Xi’s right-hand man, to attend, with far more power than either Han or Wang.
Trump invited Xi in December, but experts said it would be unprecedented for a leader from China, the United States’ main geopolitical rival, to attend the inauguration of a US president.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated during Trump’s first term (2017-2021), when he launched a broad and persistent trade and technology war against the Asian country.
Trump has said he will impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods unless Beijing does more to crack down on the trafficking of fentanyl, a highly addictive drug.
During the election campaign, the Republican threatened to impose tariffs of more than 60% on all Chinese goods.
Some of the most important positions in the new Trump administration will be held by strong critics of China, including incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio, signaling that his policy toward China could be more confrontational than during his first term.
On Monday, Trump said he had spoken with Xi through representatives and that he believed the two would reach an understanding during his second term.
The following day, China's Foreign Ministry said that Beijing attaches "great importance" to Trump's statements and that it wants to promote "stable, healthy and sustainable development of Sino-American economic and trade issues."
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