United States President-elect Donald Trump has invited his Chinese language counterpart Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration ceremony in January, regardless of his historical past of hawkish rhetoric and tariff threats.
On Thursday, Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed experiences of the invitation in an look on the conservative TV channel Fox Information. She framed the invitation as an effort to strengthen ties between the 2 nations, lengthy seen as rivals.
“That is an instance of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of nations that aren’t simply our allies however our adversaries and our rivals, too,” Leavitt advised the programme Fox & Mates.
Specialists say that it will be unprecedented for a Chinese language chief to attend a US presidential inauguration, given the frosty relations which have endured between the 2 nations for many years.
“That is diplomatic theater, nothing extra. Different heads of state, not to mention Xi Jinping, haven’t attended US presidential inaugurations,” Scott Kennedy, a China specialist at Washington’s Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research, advised the information company Reuters.
Specialists say Xi is unlikely to just accept the invitation. When requested at a briefing about Trump’s invitation, Chinese language Overseas Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded: “I’ve nothing to share at current.”
However the symbolism behind his look at Trump’s second inauguration would possible be fraught.
Danny Russel, vp for worldwide safety and diplomacy on the Asia Society Coverage Institute, advised The Related Press that Xi’s attendance – if he accepts – could possibly be construed because the Chinese language president “celebrating the triumph of a international chief”.
“Are you able to think about Xi Jinping sitting open air in Washington, DC, in January on the ft of the rostrum, surrounded by hawkish members of Congress, gazing up at Donald Trump as he delivers his inaugural handle?” requested Russel.
Xi and Trump have additionally butted heads prior to now. Throughout Trump’s first time period, from 2017 to 2021, he initiated a commerce struggle with China that noticed the 2 nations impose tariffs on one another’s imports.
In 2019, the United Nations Commerce and Growth organisation issued a report warning that the commerce struggle was “economically hurting each nations”. Specialists have additionally warned that the price of tariffs is usually offset onto customers.
Trump additionally exchanged a confrontation with Xi’s authorities in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he known as the “China virus”. He demanded China be held accountable for its unfold. China, for its half, condemned Trump’s accusations as “baseless” and known as his rhetoric stigmatising.
A second Trump time period might spark additional tensions with China. Already, he has pledged to impose an extra 10 p.c tariff on Chinese language items if extra is just not achieved to curb the commerce of the artificial drug fentanyl.
And his incoming administration is stacked with a number of notable international coverage hawks, together with Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, who has accused China of deploying “theft” and “predatory techniques” to strengthen its financial system. China sanctioned Rubio in 2020.
The present administration of US President Joe Biden has additionally left some tariffs from Trump’s first time period largely in place and brought aggressive steps meant to hobble China’s tech sector.
However this week, there was proof the US might search to extend cooperation with China shifting ahead.
The Biden administration introduced a delegation of senior Treasury Division officers would journey to Nanjing, China, whereas different officers would coordinate with their Chinese language counterparts at a gathering for the Group of 20 (G20) discussion board in South Africa.
Trump too has signalled a willingness to heat relations. Talking from the ground of the New York Inventory Change on Thursday, Trump additionally mentioned his incoming administration would have interaction in “loads of talks with China”.
“We’ve got relationship with China. I’ve a shocking relationship. Now, when the COVID got here in, I type of reduce it off. That was a step too far,” he mentioned.
Some are hopeful that the 2 international powers will discover room for collaboration the place doable.
“We should always select dialogue over confrontation and win-win cooperation over zero-sum video games,” Xi mentioned within the letter learn aloud at a US-China Enterprise Council gala in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.