Hong Kong
cnn
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— Chinese leader Xi Jinping may not have personally accepted US President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to his inauguration, but Beijing took the unusual step of sending a senior official to participate in the swearing-in ceremony in Washington.
China’s Vice President Han Zheng is expected to attend the inauguration this Monday after meeting incoming US Vice President JD Vance this Sunday in a trip that observers say is a significant goodwill gesture, but potentially risky, as Beijing seeks to avoid major friction with Trump and his incoming cabinet of China hawks.
While Han is the highest-ranking Chinese official to attend a U.S. inauguration, his position as vice president is largely symbolic within the Chinese political system. True authority lies with the ruling Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, from which Han retired in 2022.
But the dispatch of a high-profile official – and one who previously represented Xi at international events, including the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III – signals Beijing’s interest in resetting strained US-China relations, observers say. .
Han has taken advantage of his visit to meet with members of the American business community, including Tesla CEO and close Trump collaborator Elon Musk, according to the Chinese state agency Xinhua. In Beijing, Musk is believed to be more sympathetic to their interests than others in Trump’s orbit.
In his meeting with Musk, Han called on American companies, including Tesla, to foster trade relations between the United States and China, Xinhua reported. Tesla operates its largest manufacturing plant outside the United States in Shanghai. Musk had not yet confirmed the meeting at the time of publication of the Chinese news.
Han’s arrival in the United States follows a phone call between Xi and Trump this Friday, where the Chinese leader congratulated Trump on his re-election and called for a new start in relations.
“We both attach great importance to our interactions, we both hope for a good start to the China-US relationship during the new US presidency, and we are willing to ensure further progress in China-US relations from a new starting point.” Xi told Trump on the call, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Trump confirmed on his social media platform Truth Social that he had a “very good” phone call with Xi and that they discussed topics such as trade, fentanyl and the Chinese social media app TikTok.
The incoming US president also pledged this Sunday to delay implementation of a controversial law, upheld by the Supreme Court last week, that would ban the app in the United States if its China-based parent company, Bytedance, does not divest it. .
The app, whose fate is closely tied to technological and national security frictions between the United States and China, was down for about 12 hours over the weekend before restoring service following Trump’s statement.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to feature prominently at the incoming president’s inauguration on Monday.
Before his inauguration, Trump privately told advisers that he wants to visit China after taking office, three sources familiar with the conversations told CNN, in another possible sign that the incoming US leader hopes to keep the door open to negotiation. with the rival country even as it has signaled a hardline stance on economic competition with China.
Han and Vance discussed a “variety of issues, including fentanyl, trade balance, and regional stability” in their meeting, the Trump-Vance transition team said in a statement Sunday.
In its report of the meeting, Chinese state media Xinhua said Han emphasized that China is willing to work with the United States to “promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.”
Han also acknowledged “differences and frictions” in economic and trade matters, but highlighted the “common interests” and “room for cooperation” between the two countries and called for them to strengthen dialogue and consultation, Xinhua reported.
Han’s attendance at Trump’s inauguration comes as Trump has broken with the precedent set by recent administrations of inviting foreign leaders, including Italian right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni and Argentina’s Javier Milei.
The incoming president’s invitation to Xi last month – the authoritarian leader of the United States’ main geopolitical rival – was an exceptionally rare gesture, particularly since the incoming president campaigned on intensifying economic competition with China and slapping heavy tariffs on Chinese goods.
It would have been highly unlikely that Xi would attend Monday’s exercise in the democratic transfer of American power, given both the geopolitical context and the long, detailed preparations that typically precede any trip by the Chinese leader.
Chinese ambassadors to the United States attended recent inaugurations, as is customary in many countries, although China’s Foreign Ministry did not confirm that then-ambassador Cui Tiankai attended President Joe Biden’s.
Relations between the United States and China have deteriorated in recent years over a host of issues, including Beijing’s growing aggression in the South China Sea and against Taiwan’s autonomous democracy, as well as U.S. efforts to limit China’s access to American high technology, stressors that are unlikely to change anytime soon, regardless of who is in the White House.
But observers say it is in Beijing’s interest to foster less conflictive relations as it seeks to stabilize its battered economy and avoid deepening a damaging technology and trade war with its largest trading partner.
At a meeting with representatives of the US-China Business Council, the US Chamber of Commerce and other businessmen on Sunday, Han called the US business community the “backbone of US-China relations,” according to Xinhua. Han said he hoped American companies would “continue to invest in China” and play an “active liaison role” between the two sides, Xinhua reported.
His comments follow what has been a period of unease for the American business community about doing business in China, given tensions between the two countries and Beijing’s increased regulatory scrutiny over foreign access to sensitive information.
Sending Han to the inauguration sends a message that “China takes (Trump’s) invitation seriously and is willing to take the risk,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington. .
That risk, Yun said, is that Trump would impose tariffs on China just days after arriving in the White House, a move Beijing would consider foolish.
During the election campaign, Trump threatened to impose tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese imports to the United States. In November, he said China would face higher tariffs on its products (10% higher than existing tariffs), citing the role played by Chinese suppliers in the US drug crisis.
Beijing is not the only country facing these types of economic threats. In recent months, numerous world leaders and their representatives have met to begin strengthening ties with Trump, who is known for associating foreign policy with personal chemistry.
But even as Beijing faces looming economic friction and suspicions about its ambitions from within the incoming administration, it is likely to still see opportunities in a Trump presidency, observers say.
During the Biden administration, Beijing opposed U.S. efforts to deepen security coordination with U.S. allies in Asia, as well as the president’s stated support for U.S. defense of Taiwan, the autonomous island Beijing claims.
He now sees an opportunity as the incoming Trump administration will arrive with its own distinctive priorities for its China policy, according to Suisheng Zhao, director of the Center for China-U.S. Cooperation. USA from the University of Denver.
Trump is expected to focus on economic competition with China rather than the threat Beijing poses to a U.S.-led liberal world order, as the Biden White House did. The incoming president has also expressed his affinity for Xi in the past, calling him “tough” and “smart.”
“Trump likes Xi Jinping, he likes strong men, strong leaders,” Zhao said. “Xi Jinping senses these opportunities and is equally eager to reset and test the waters right now.”
CNN’s Nectar Gan and Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this report.
