Chinese President Xi Jinping will consider an invitation to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration too risky to accept, and Trump's gesture is a sign of tensions between the two countries, which have intensified with the change in the White House. It may have little to do with competition, experts say. .
President Trump's incoming press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, confirmed Thursday that the president has extended his invitation to the Jan. 20 ceremony.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said it had no information to provide. But experts do not expect Mr. Xi to come to Washington next month.
Why isn't President Xi attending?
“Can you imagine Xi Jinping sitting outside in Washington, D.C., at the foot of the podium, surrounded by hawkish members of Congress, in January, staring at Donald Trump as he delivers his inaugural address?” Previously, East Asia・Danny Russell, former assistant secretary of state for Pacific affairs, said:
Russell, who is now deputy director for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Xi would be “reduced to the status of a mere guest celebrating the victory of a foreign leader — the president of the United States.” said he would not allow it.
Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, said Beijing would play it safe if there was no formality or precedent for a Chinese leader to attend a U.S. president's inauguration. said.
“I don't think the Chinese are willing to take the risk,” Son said.
For example, Son noted that Taiwan's top diplomat to the United States attended President Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony in 2021, and said the guest list could be at risk.
The Chinese government considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory and has repeatedly warned the United States that Taiwan is a red line that should not be crossed.
If President Trump were to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese products as soon as he took office as he threatened, Mr. Xi would look foolish even if he chose to attend, which would be unacceptable to the Chinese government, Mr. Son said. said.
Rather, Chinese officials are known to value the dignity and safety of their leaders when traveling abroad, said Russell, who has experience negotiating high-level summits with Chinese counterparts.
“They have always demanded that any leader's visit to Washington be treated as a complete 'state visit,' with all the bells and whistles,” Russell said.
What will happen to US-China relations in the future?
But Russell said it is expected that plans are in the works for Trump and Xi to meet in person soon.
Russell said Trump prefers direct talks with foreign leaders, especially major adversaries, and Beijing may believe it can reach a better deal by negotiating directly with Trump. Ta.
The US-China conflict is expected to further intensify with Trump's return to the White House. He selected several China hawks to his cabinet, including Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Rep. Mike Walz as national security adviser.
Beijing has taken a “wait-and-see” approach, but has said it is ready to strike back if Washington increases tariffs on Chinese goods or makes other unfriendly moves.
Mr. Sun of the Stimson Center cautioned that Mr. Trump's invitation does not preclude hostile policies toward China. She said President Trump visited China in 2017 and “became kind” but started a trade war the following year.
“We’ve seen this before,” Sun said.
“For Trump, there is no contradiction between the carrot and the stick. For China, it is a contradiction. Whether it's a friendly message or a hostile message, rather than being at the mercy of President Trump, there is a safety net. This will further strengthen China's desire to
