U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration on January 20, according to CBS News.
The invitation was reportedly sent in early November, soon after Trump won the November 5 presidential election. It remains unclear whether Xi has accepted the invitation. The Chinese embassy in Washington has not responded to requests for comment.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he “got along very well” with Xi and revealed they had communicated as recently as this week.
If Xi accepts, it would mark an unprecedented move for a Chinese leader to attend a U.S. presidential inauguration.
Despite the invitation, Trump has made bold statements on China. He plans to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods if Beijing does not take stronger action against the trafficking of fentanyl, a highly addictive drug. During his campaign, Trump even threatened tariffs of over 60% on Chinese imports.
China’s state media warned in November that such actions could lead to a damaging trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
At a U.S.-China Business Council gala in Washington, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng shared a letter from President Xi. In the letter, Xi stated: “We should choose dialogue over confrontation and win-win cooperation over zero-sum games.”
Xie emphasized the importance of maintaining integrated supply chains between the two nations.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns cautioned against overly optimistic portrayals of U.S.-China relations, stating in a prerecorded message: “No amount of happy talk can obscure our profound differences.”
This interaction highlights the delicate balance between cooperation and competition as the two nations navigate their complex relationship.
