Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration
It will be the first time a senior Chinese leader has been present at the key Washington ceremony to open the new US presidency
China’s foreign ministry made the announcement on Friday morning, three days before the inauguration.
“We stand ready to work with the new US government to enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship, and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other,” the ministry said.
Diao Daming, a professor of international relations at Beijing’s Renmin University, said that while having a special envoy attend a foreign president’s inauguration was in line with China’s diplomatic practice, the move to send a senior leader this time reflected China’s emphasis on stabilising relations with the US.
“It reflects the great importance that China attaches to stabilising the Sino-US relationship. It sets a good starting point for the next stage of … relations and it will contribute to further interactions between China and the US,” he said.
Speculation has been rife ahead of Trump’s return to the White House about how he will approach the world’s second-largest economy, after earlier threatening to slap additional tariffs of up to 60 per cent on Chinese goods.
