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China Sends a VIP to Trump’s Inauguration

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng will attend the president-elect’s inauguration on Monday.

China’s vice president will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday morning local time. The Chinese government confirmed that Vice President Han Zheng, a high-ranking Chinese politician who was tapped for the role in August 2023, according to the South China Morning Post, will travel to attend the ceremony in Washington, D.C. “China follows the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in viewing and growing its relationship with the United States,” the ministry said in a statement. China said they planned to work with the US to “enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other in the new era.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the invitation was extended earlier by Trump’s team. The unprecedented move comes after Trump repeatedly promised to levy tariffs on Chinese imports. He has also nominated multiple China critics to top-level Cabinet positions, including Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state. China’s plans to send a high-level envoy to the presidential inauguration was first reported by the Financial Times last week. The Trump transition team did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily Beast.