Donald Trump has invited China’s hardline President Xi Jinping to attend next month’s inauguration, a bold diplomatic maneuver that Beijing has reportedly said it will reject.
The president-elect’s proposal – which his staff said could also apply to other leaders – breaks with historical precedent in which no foreign heads of state are expected to attend the U.S. presidential inauguration.
Given that China has become the United States’ most important global adversary and the incoming president has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 60% if China does not take action, it represents a brazen attempt to take an unorthodox approach to foreign policy that Trump intends to take. statement.
Trump revealed his move in an interview after the symbolic opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, acknowledging the risks it posed.
“Some people say, ‘Wow, that’s a little risky, isn’t it?'” Trump said. “I said, ‘Maybe so. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. But we like to take risks.
He added in an interview with CNBC: “We’re going to have a lot of talks with China. We have a great relationship with China. I have an amazing relationship.
“Now, when COVID-19 came along, I cut it off. It was a step too far. As they say, it was a bridge too far. But we have been talking and discussing some with President Xi and other world leaders. Things, I think we’re going to do well across the board.
“We’ve been badly mistreated from an economic standpoint… We’re not going to be mistreated anymore.”
Carolyn Leavitt, Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, told Fox News that the invitation was “an example of President Trump having an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not only our allies but also our adversaries.” and competitors”.
Trump hosted Xi at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida during his first term as president and often expressed admiration for Xi’s wisdom and authoritarian approach despite contentious relations with China.
Still, inviting Xi to witness his inaugural address was “shockingly arrogant from an American values perspective,” Edward Frantz, a presidential historian at the University of Indianapolis, told The Associated Press.
According to CBS, sources in Beijing said Xi Jinping would decline the invitation and that China’s ambassador to Washington would likely attend the ceremony on behalf of the Chinese Communist regime.
Analysts said attending the meeting could put Xi in a subservient position to Trump, forcing him to passively listen to whatever the incoming U.S. leader has to say in the global media spotlight while lacking the ability to respond.
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It would also make him a witness to the peaceful transfer of power in a democratic environment that is lacking under China’s one-party dictatorship.
Sun Yun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, told the Wall Street Journal: “China will be worried that the Trump administration may take hostile actions after Xi Jinping’s visit, which will endanger Xi Jinping’s authority and credibility.”
However, some analysts believe that even a rejected invitation could put Trump in the lead and that the move could become an indicator of his future foreign policy.
CNN pointed out: “This is a reminder of Trump’s love of foreign policy in grand gestures and his willingness to trample diplomatic norms in unpredictable ways.”
“Xi Jinping’s invitation also demonstrates Trump’s belief that the force of his personality alone can be the decisive factor in achieving a diplomatic breakthrough.”
There was no immediate confirmation of which other foreign leaders might be invited, though there was speculation that an invitation could be extended to Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom Trump repeatedly praised on the campaign trail and announced in March Visited him. There is also speculation that Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni may attend.
