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Chinese leader Xi Jinping may not have personally accepted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to his inauguration, but Beijing has taken the rare step of dispatching a top official to join the swearing-in ceremony in Washington.Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attended Monday’s inauguration after meeting incoming U.S. Vice President JD Vance Sunday, in a trip observers say is a significant – but potentially risky – goodwill gesture as Beijing looks to avert major friction with Trump and his incoming cabinet of China hawks.While Han is the most senior Chinese official to attend a U.S. inauguration, his position of vice president is largely symbolic within China’s political system. True authority lies with the ruling Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, from which Han retired in 2022.But sending a high-profile official – and one who has previously represented Xi at international events including the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III – signals Beijing’s interest in a reset of fraught relations between the U.S. and China, observers say.Han has used the visit to meet with members of the American business community, including Tesla CEO and close Trump associate Elon Musk, according to Chinese state agency Xinhua. Musk is widely thought to be seen by Beijing as more sympathetic to its interests than others in Trump’s orbit.In his meeting with Musk, Han called on American companies, including Tesla, to promote U.S.-China trade relations, Xinhua reported. Tesla operates its largest manufacturing plant outside the United States in Shanghai. Musk had yet to confirm the meeting at the time of the Chinese report.Han’s arrival in the U.S. follows a phone call between Xi and Trump Friday, where the Chinese leader congratulated Trump on his reelection and called for a new start in relations.“We both attach great importance to our interactions, both hope for a good start of the China-U.S. relationship during the new U.S. presidency, and are willing to secure greater progress in China-U.S. relations from a new starting point,” Xi told Trump in the call, according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Trump confirmed on his social media platform Truth Social that he held a “very good” phone call with Xi, and that they discussed subjects including trade, fentanyl and Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.The incoming U.S. president on Sunday also pledged to delay enforcement of a controversial law, upheld by the Supreme Court last week, that would see the app banned in the U.S. if its China-based parent company Bytedance does not divest it.The app – whose fate is closely tied to tech and national security frictions between the U.S. and China – went dark for roughly 12 hours over the weekend before restoring service following Trump’s statement.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping may not have personally accepted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to his inauguration, but Beijing has taken the rare step of dispatching a top official to join the swearing-in ceremony in Washington.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attended Monday’s inauguration after meeting incoming U.S. Vice President JD Vance Sunday, in a trip observers say is a significant – but potentially risky – goodwill gesture as Beijing looks to avert major friction with Trump and his incoming cabinet of China hawks.
While Han is the most senior Chinese official to attend a U.S. inauguration, his position of vice president is largely symbolic within China’s political system. True authority lies with the ruling Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, from which Han retired in 2022.
But sending a high-profile official – and one who has previously represented Xi at international events including the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III – signals Beijing’s interest in a reset of fraught relations between the U.S. and China, observers say.
Han has used the visit to meet with members of the American business community, including Tesla CEO and close Trump associate Elon Musk, according to Chinese state agency Xinhua. Musk is widely thought to be seen by Beijing as more sympathetic to its interests than others in Trump’s orbit.
In his meeting with Musk, Han called on American companies, including Tesla, to promote U.S.-China trade relations, Xinhua reported. Tesla operates its largest manufacturing plant outside the United States in Shanghai. Musk had yet to confirm the meeting at the time of the Chinese report.
Han’s arrival in the U.S. follows a phone call between Xi and Trump Friday, where the Chinese leader congratulated Trump on his reelection and called for a new start in relations.
“We both attach great importance to our interactions, both hope for a good start of the China-U.S. relationship during the new U.S. presidency, and are willing to secure greater progress in China-U.S. relations from a new starting point,” Xi told Trump in the call, according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Trump confirmed on his social media platform Truth Social that he held a “very good” phone call with Xi, and that they discussed subjects including trade, fentanyl and Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.
The incoming U.S. president on Sunday also pledged to delay enforcement of a controversial law, upheld by the Supreme Court last week, that would see the app banned in the U.S. if its China-based parent company Bytedance does not divest it.
The app – whose fate is closely tied to tech and national security frictions between the U.S. and China – went dark for roughly 12 hours over the weekend before restoring service following Trump’s statement.
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