The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will send a high -level envoy to the inauguration of Donald Trump, in an unprecedented movement designed for friction between countries at the beginning of the new US administration.
Beijing told Trump’s transition team that the most sensible official would take Xi’s place, according to several other people familiar with the talks. The envoy would also meet with Trump’s team, several other people said.
Trump extended a rare invitation to Xi to attend his inauguration on January 20, a sign that he intends to resume the kind of high-level engagement with the Chinese leader that he conducted during his first term in the House. White.
Beijing is desperate to ease friction with Washington as it braces for a possible serious escalation in trade tensions. Chinese officials struggled to meet Trump advisers in the run-up to November’s US election, raising concern in Beijing that they would be unprepared for any shift on China.
Several other people said XI could simply send Han Zheng, a vice president who supported him in ceremonial functions. Another option is Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
A user familiar with the stage said that some Trump advisors looked for Cai Qi, a member of the Permanent Committee of Politburó who exercises much more strength that Han or Wang in his capacity as XI’s man.
Another user familiar with the internal outlook, the transition team said there is some fear that Trump would not be satisfied if he envoyed only at the point of Wang or Han, given that he had invited the Chinese leader.
“The Chinese want to send the right point to the officials to start the appointment on the right foot,” said the user.
Wang would not be considered sufficient superior point because he qualified under CAI and Han and a career diplomat, an expert in China said.
The Chinese embassy in Washington had no comment. Trump’s team responded to requests for comment.
The presence of one of the officials will not be preceded, since China was represented in the past through its ambassador to Washington.
“Trump is probably deemed too unpredictable for Xi to take the domestic risk of attending in person,” said Dennis Wilder, a former top White House China adviser. “By sending a special envoy of significant stature to get meetings with Trump and his cabinet, Xi can demonstrate that he wishes to get off on the right foot with the Trump administration without risking that he could return home empty-handed or publicly embarrassed.”
Several other people said that beyond the ceremonial element, the Chinese envoy would also hold substantial conversations with the new Trump team.
Beijing is bracing for turmoil with Washington, namely Trump appointed a number of China hawks to the most sensible national security posts.
Mike Waltz, Trump’s new national security advisor and his deputy Alex Wong are very complicated in China. Trump also nominated the Republican senator of the United States, Marco Rubio, one of the highest hawks of China Vocal in Congress, to be his Secretary of State.
Trump said this week that his team is already in contact with Beijing. “We speak through their representatives,” Trump said in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, when he also blamed China for the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.