China announced Friday January 17 that Xi Jinping has decided to send his vice-president Han Zheng to attend the inauguration of Donald Trump. Elected for the second time in November, the new President of the United States will be sworn in on Monday in Washington. His transition team announced in December that Trump had broken with tradition by inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders to the ceremony. Han Zheng will attend the inauguration as “special representative” of Xi Jinping, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
“China adopts the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in reviewing and developing its relations with the United States”said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. “We stand ready to work with the new American government to improve dialogue and communication”said the spokesperson. Beijing wishes “jointly pursue stable, healthy and lasting relations between China and the United States, and find the right way for the two countries to get along.”
During his first term, Donald Trump engaged in a bitter trade war with China, imposing high tariffs on imports from the world's second-largest economy. Recently, he threatened to impose even harsher measures, accusing Beijing of unfair trade practices and contributing to the devastating fentanyl crisis in the United States.
