Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to send a high-ranking government official to represent him at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20 after declining an invitation to attend the event personally, according to the Financial Times.
Xi has reportedly informed the Trump transition team that a top Chinese official will attend the inauguration in Xi’s stead, with several sources suggesting it may be Chinese Vice President Han Zheng or Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The Times notes that some of Trump’s advisers reportedly wanted Xi’s right-hand man, Cai Qi, to attend and that Trump may be unhappy if Wang or Han is sent instead.
“The Chinese need to send the appropriate level of official to start the relationship off on the right foot,” said the Times’ source, whose name was not given.
“Trump is probably deemed too unpredictable for Xi to take the domestic risk of attending in person,” Dennis Wilder, a former top adviser to the White House on China, told the Times. “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.”
Trump invited Xi and several other heads of state to his upcoming inauguration, which incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described as “an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too.”
