Khushboo Razdan

Opinion | Inauguration invitation to Xi shows Trump’s deal-making in action

The US president-elect’s overture to China’s leader shows he doesn’t want to be as confrontational as his messaging and advisers suggest

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and then US president Donald Trump on November 9, 2017, outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: Tass/Abaca Press/TNS

Khushboo Razdanin Washington

Published: 8:30pm, 16 Dec 2024

No Chinese head of state has ever attended a presidential inauguration in the United States. Chinese President Xi Jinping is unlikely to change that when Donald Trump is sworn in as the US’ 47th president on January 20.

However, Trump has made what some experts have hailed as a “brilliant tactical move” by extending an invitation to Xi to attend the event.

If the meeting takes place, it would give Trump a chance to discuss key bilateral issues and set the stage for a potential deal between the world’s two largest economies which are standing on the brink of a widening trade war. Even if Xi sends a representative in his place, it would still open new and crucial channels of communication.

Trump’s diplomatic overture marks a departure from decades of US policy, which has long refrained from inviting foreign leaders to presidential inaugurations. The gesture signals that the incoming administration, and Trump in particular, views China as a top priority. It reflects Trump’s desire to build on his personal relationship with Xi.

His recent actions and somewhat cryptic messaging on China indicate he is interested in working out an agreeable deal with Beijing and wants to leave a door open for bargains as any seasoned businessman would.

Over the weekend, I reached out to Denis Simon, a distinguished China scholar and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute in Washington, to help me understand why Trump invited Xi.