- The Chinese foreign ministry says Vice President Han Zheng will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration.
- The Trump team said in December that it had invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but Xi will not attend.
- Foreign heads of state do not usually attend US presidential inaugurations.
China’s foreign ministry says it is sending Vice President Han Zheng to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
The Trump transition team said last month that it had invited China President Xi Jinping to the event. The move came as a surprise given that foreign heads of state usually do not attend US presidential inaugurations.
“China follows the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in viewing and growing its relationship with the United States,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday morning local time announcing Han’s attendance.
“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 relationship and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other,” the statement added.
The White House, Trump’s transition team, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and the Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
US-China relations have long remained tenuous ever since Trump’s first term. Both the Trump and Biden administrations had imposed crippling tariffs on China.
In May, President Joe Biden announced an increase in tariffs on Chinese exported steel, aluminium, medical products and electric vehicles.
Those tariffs could be ratcheted up even further when Trump takes office. The president-elect said during his campaign that he plans to impose tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese goods entering the US.
In November, Trump said he plans to impose an additional 10% import tariff on Chinese goods unless China does more to curb the inflow of fentanyl into the US.
In January, Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that his representatives have been speaking to Xi’s staff.
“I had a great relationship with President Xi. It was very solid, very strong, very friendly. He’s a strong man, a powerful man,” Trump told Hewitt in an interview that aired on January 6.
“He’s certainly revered in China, but they are having problems and I think we will probably get along very well, I predict, but you know it’s got to be a two-way street,” Trump added.
