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 thinktank 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.
Danny Russel, vice-president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Beijing was hedging by sending Han instead of Xi.
“Zero chance that Xi Jinping would allow himself to be potted plant at Donald Trump’s triumphal coronation. At the same time, ensuring that China extends enough courtesy to avoid bruising Trump’s ego,” Russel wrote. Han’s mission, the former American diplomat said, was “symbolic, not substantive”.
The dispatch of Han comes as the US-China rivalry is set to intensify. Several of Trump’s nominees for key cabinet positions are known China hawks, including senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has been nominated as secretary of state.
Rubio called China “the most potent, dangerous and near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted” during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, when members of the Senate foreign relations committee urged Rubio to make countering China a top priority.
Beijing prefers leader-level talks, which it believes could help guide the bilateral relations, while Trump likes to deal with world leaders directly.
As president, Xi has traveled abroad for state visits and summits. But he did not attend the coronation of King Charles III, nor did he go to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II or the memorial service for Nelson Mandela.