China is sending Vice President Han Zheng to the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday – the first time a senior Chinese leader will attend the inauguration of a US president.
Trump had invited Chinese President Xi Jinping, among other leaders — a break from tradition given that foreign leaders generally do not attend U.S. presidential inaugurations.
China has said it wants to work with the new US government to “find the right way for the two countries to get along in the new era.”
But Beijing is also preparing for a Trump presidency that is expected to include new tariffs on imports made in China and more combative rhetoric – Marco Rubio, the nominee for secretary of state, described China as “the greatest and most advanced adversary America has ever faced.” face”.
As president, Xi never attended an inauguration or coronation ceremony, choosing instead to send a representative on his behalf. China’s ambassador to the United States attended the last two presidential inaugurations, in 2017 and 2021.
Beijing has, however, sent vice presidents to such ceremonies elsewhere: Han attended the inauguration of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in October 2023. And his predecessor, Wang Qishan, was present at the inauguration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in 2022 and Brazilian President Lula da Silva. in 2023.
Xi’s decision to send Han to the United States is a sign that he “wants to put Trump in negotiation mode, but (he) doesn’t want to be a supporting player in the Trump show on January 20,” said Neil Thomas, a Chinese policy researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Other foreign leaders invited to the inauguration include Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told US media that the invitation to Xi was an “example of how Trump is creating an open dialogue with the leaders of countries that are not just our allies but our adversaries and our competitors.
It could also be an attempt by Trump to show the world “that he has the ability to influence Xi’s decision-making and that they have a special relationship,” says Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington.
Earlier reports suggested that some Trump advisers wanted Cai Qi to attend. Widely seen as Xi’s right-hand man, Cai, 66, sits on the Communist Party’s seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, China’s equivalent of a cabinet.
The Financial Times cited an anonymous source as saying Trump would be “unhappy” if the Chinese envoy present was “only at the level of Han or (Foreign Minister) Wang Yi.” The BBC has not been able to verify these claims.
But as vice president, Han, 70, occupies a “very important role in the Chinese state system” and the decision to send him agreements “is a courtesy of Trump,” says researcher Chong Ja-Ian non-resident at Carnegie. China.
Han, who was appointed vice president in March 2023, is known as “number eight,” the highest ranking leader after the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee.
Han was also a member until October 2022, when Xi began a historic third term in power and appointed his most trusted deputies to top positions.
Before that, Han spent most of his political career in Shanghai, where he was born. In 2007, he served as an aide to Xi when the latter was party secretary in Shanghai, before assuming the post himself in 2012.
Foreign affairs was a priority for him during his tenure as vice president. He led a group to promote the Belt and Road Initiative – a key Chinese trade and infrastructure project – and led a steering committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
But the fact that Han no longer sits on the Politburo Standing Committee may have been a key factor in Beijing’s decision to send him.
“Should US-China relations deteriorate from a party perspective, Xi and the party will be able to show that they have kept some distance from Trump,” Professor Chong said .
And it also helps that Han is not considered part of Xi’s inner circle, according to Mr. Thomas.
“Xi trusts Han enough to take on this mission, but Han is not a key ally and could safely be blamed if things go wrong.”
Additional reporting by Ian Tang of BBC Monitoring
