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Chinese President Xi Jinping is sending a top envoy to Donald Trump’s appointment in an unprecedented move to ease tensions between the two countries at the start of a new US administration.
Beijing told Trump’s transition team that a more senior official would be available, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions. The envoy will also hold talks with Trump’s team, several people said.
Trump has extended a rare invitation to Xi to attend his inauguration on January 20, saying he intends to continue the high-level relationship he enjoyed with the Chinese leader during his first term in the White House.
Beijing is keen to ease tensions with Washington, as there could be a serious escalation in trade tensions. Chinese officials are worried that Beijing will be unprepared for any change as they scramble to find Trump advisers for the US election in November. China.
Many people said Xi might send Vice President Han Zheng, who sometimes stands in for him in ceremonial roles. Another option is Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
A person familiar with the situation said. Trump Advisers wanted Cai Qi, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, who held more power than either Han or Wang as Xi’s right-hand man.
Another person familiar with the transition team’s views on inviting the Chinese leader fears that Trump will be unhappy if the delegation is only at the level of Wang or Han.
“The Chinese should send an official of the appropriate level to start the relationship on the right foot,” the person said.
Wang ranked below Kai and Han and was a career diplomat, so he was not considered senior enough, a China expert said.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not comment. Trump’s team did not respond to requests for comment.
China was previously represented by an ambassador in Washington, so the presence of any official was unprecedented.
Dennis Wilder, a former senior White House China adviser, said Trump was considered “unwilling to risk a physical presence for Xi in the country.” “By sending a high-level special envoy to meet with Trump and his cabinet, Xi can show he wants to get off on the right foot with the Trump administration without the risk of returning home empty-handed or publicly embarrassed.”
Many people said that beyond the ceremony, the Chinese envoy will have substantive discussions with the new Trump team.
Beijing has been scrambling to create tensions with Washington, especially after Trump appointed a series of China hawks to top national security positions.
Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Walton, and his deputy, Alex Wong, are considered very tough on China. Trump nominated Republican US Senator Marco Rubio, the most vocal China hawk in Congress, as Secretary of State.
Trump said his team met with Beijing this week. “We’ve been talking through their representatives,” Trump said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt’s radio show in 2020 after blaming China for the Covid-19 outbreak.
