US President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration, CBS News reported, citing multiple sources. According to the report published on December 11, Wednesday, claimed that Trump had extended an invitation to the Chinese leader shortly after the declaration of election results on November 5. However, the report did not mention whether the Chinese President accepted the invitation or not.
Earlier in an interview with NBC News, Trump said they "got along very well" with Xi and that they had "had communication as recently as this week." It is worth mentioning that would be unprecedented for America to invite foreign leaders to the inauguration ceremony. As per the State Department record, no foreign leaders attended a transfer-of-power ceremony since 1874.
Irrespective of the claim, it would be exceptional for Trump to invite Xi amid the fact he had warned of imposing huge tariffs on Chinese products. Trump also threatened tariffs in excess of 60 per cent on Chinese goods while on the campaign trail.
Why wouldn’t Xi attend?
“Can you imagine Xi Jinping sitting outdoors in Washington, D.C., in January at the feet of the podium, surrounded by hawkish members of Congress, gazing up at Donald Trump as he delivers his inaugural address?” said Danny Russel, who previously served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
Russel, now vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Xi would not allow himself to “be reduced to the status of a mere guest celebrating the triumph of a foreign leader — the US president, no less.”
Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank, said Beijing will play it safe when there’s no protocol or precedent for a Chinese leader to attend the inauguration of a U.S. president.
“I don’t think the Chinese will take the risk,” Sun said. There could be risks in the guest list, for example, Sun said, noting that Taiwan’s top diplomat in the U.S. attended the swearing-in of President Joe Biden in 2021. Beijing considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory and has repeatedly warned the U.S. that it is a red line not to be crossed.
Should Trump slap tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese goods upon taking office as he’s threatened, Xi would look like a fool if he had chosen to attend, and that’s unacceptable to Beijing, Sun said.
Rather, Chinese officials are known for their obsession with the dignity and security of their leader when traveling abroad, said Russel, who has negotiated high-level summits with the Chinese. “They have always demanded that any leader trip to Washington be treated as a full ‘state visit’ with all the bells and whistles,” Russel said.
(With inputs from agency)
