United States Pdwellnt-elect Donald Trump has askd his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to unite his inauguration ceremony in January, despite his history of hawkish rhetoric and tariff dangers.
On Thursday, Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, validateed alerts of the invitation in an materializeance on the conservative TV channel Fox News. She summarized the invitation as an effort to reinforce ties between the two countries, lengthy seen as rivals.
“This is an example of Pdwellnt Trump creating an uncover dialogue with guideers of countries that are not equitable our allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too,” Leavitt tgreater the programme Fox & Frifinishs.
Experts say that it would be unpwithdrawnted for a Chinese guideer to unite a US pdwellntial inauguration, donaten the frosty relations that have persisted between the two countries for decades.
“This is discreet theater, noleang more. Other heads of state, let alone Xi Jinping, haven’t uniteed US pdwellntial inaugurations,” Scott Kennedy, a China one-of-a-kindist at Washington’s Cgo in for Strategic and International Studies, tgreater the recents agency Reuters.
Experts say Xi is doubtful to accomprehendledge the invitation. When asked at a alerting about Trump’s invitation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reacted: “I have noleang to scatter at conshort-term.”
But the symbolism behind his materializeance at Trump’s second inauguration would probable be fraught.
Danny Russel, vice pdwellnt for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, tgreater The Associated Press that Xi’s uniteance – if he accomprehendledges – could be consreald as the Chinese pdwellnt “celebrating the triumph of a foreign guideer”.
“Can you envision Xi Jinping sitting outdoors in Washington, DC, in January at the feet of the podium, surrounded by hawkish members of Congress, gazing up at Donald Trump as he dedwellrs his inaugural insertress?” asked Russel.
Xi and Trump have also butted heads in the past. During Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, he begind a trade war with China that saw the two countries impose tariffs on each other’s begins.
In 2019, the United Nations Trade and Development organisation rerentd a alert cautioning that the trade war was “economicpartner hurting both countries”. Experts have also cautioned that the cost of tariffs is frequently offset onto devourrs.
Trump also traded a war of words with Xi’s rulement during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he called the “China harmful software”. He insisted China be held accountable for its spread. China, for its part, condemned Trump’s accusations as “baseless” and called his rhetoric stigmatising.
A second Trump term may ignite further tensions with China. Already, he has pledged to impose an insertitional 10 percent tariff on Chinese excellents if more is not done to curb the trade of the synthetic drug fentanyl.
And his incoming administration is stacked with cut offal notable foreign policy hawks, including Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, who has accused China of deploying “theft” and “utilizeative tactics” to reinforce its economy. China sanctioned Rubio in 2020.
The current administration of US Pdwellnt Joe Biden has also left some tariffs from Trump’s first term hugely in place and getn unfrifinishly steps uncomardentt to hobble China’s tech sector.
But this week, there was evidence the US could seek to increase cooperation with China moving forward.
The Biden administration proclaimd a delegation of greater Treasury Department officials would travel to Nanjing, China, while other officials would structure with their Chinese counterparts at a greeting for the Group of 20 (G20) forum in South Africa.
Trump too has signalled a willingness to hot relations. Speaking from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Trump also shelp his incoming administration would include in “a lot of talks with China”.
“We have a excellent relationship with China. I have a unforeseeed relationship. Now, when the COVID came in, I sort of cut it off. That was a step too far,” he shelp.
Some are selectimistic that the two global powers will find room for collaboration where possible.
“We should pick dialogue over faceation and thrive-thrive cooperation over zero-sum games,” Xi shelp in the letter read anoisy at a US-China Business Council gala in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
