U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited China’s Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration ceremony in Washington next month, a transition team official announced on December 12. When asked about the invitation to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader, incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that it was “true.”

“This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies, but our adversaries and our competitors, too,” according to her. “We saw this during his first term. He was widely criticized for it, but it resulted in global peace. He is open to talking to everybody and will always prioritize America’s interests.” When asked if Xi had responded, Leavitt replied that it was “to be determined.” Leavitt said that the offer had also been issued to other foreign leaders, calling the gesture as a “precedent” for the Inaugural Committee’s outreach to dignitaries from all across the world. She declined to comment on the invitation’s details.

During a speech at the New York Stock Exchange on December 12, where Trump rang the market’s opening bell for the first time, he mentioned that he was “even thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration.” “Some people said, ‘Wow, that’s kind of hazardous, isn’t it?’ And I responded, “Maybe it is.” We will see. “We’ll see what happens,” Trump stated. “But we like to take little chances, but that’s not a bad chance.” If Xi were to attend the United States presidential inauguration on January 20, it would be unprecedented. China’s foreign ministry website shows no record of any communist government leader attending such an event in the United States or elsewhere. Typically, Beijing sends a special envoy.

According to US State Department records dating back to 1874, no foreign heads of state have ever attended a swearing-in ceremony. Instead, invitations and tickets are typically distributed to Congress members and the general public. Trump has outlined a set of new tariffs that he intends to impose on his first day in office, with a particular emphasis on Chinese products. During his presidential campaign, Trump proposed slapping tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese goods. More recently, he threatened to impose an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods owing to the regime’s involvement in the fentanyl epidemic and illegal immigration in the United States. Meanwhile, China is dealing with a slowing economy. The country SIGN INTrump’s Inauguration Invites Include CCP Leader Xi, Says SpokespersonDorothy LiBy Dorothy Li12 December 2024Donald Trumpshare10shareReplayUnmuteCurrent Time 3:01/Duration 3:01 CaptionsFullscreenSeek back 10 secondsSeek forward 10 secondsSettingsCLICK TO UNMUTEU.S. President-elect Donald Trump has extended an invitation to China’s Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration ceremony in Washington next month, a spokesperson of his transition team confirmed on Dec. 12.When asked about the invitation to the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that it’s “true.”“This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialog with leaders of countries that are not just our allies, but our adversaries and our competitors, too,” she said.“We saw this in his first term. He got a lot of criticism for it, but it led to peace around this world. He is willing to talk to anyone, and he will always put America’s interest first.”When asked if Xi had responded, Leavitt said that was “to be determined.”Leavitt confirmed that the invitation had also been extended to other foreign leaders, describing this move as a “precedent” for the Inaugural Committee when reaching out to dignitaries from around the globe. She didn’t elaborate on the details of the invitation.During a speech at the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 12, where Trump for the first time rang the opening bell to open the market, he mentioned that he was “even thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration.”“Some people said, ‘Wow, that’s a little risky, isn’t it?’ And I said: ‘Maybe it is. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens,’” Trump said. “But we like to take little chances, but that’s not a bad chance.”If Xi were to attend the U.S. presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, it would be unprecedented. No record on China’s foreign ministry website indicates that any leader from the communist regime has attended such an event in the United States or elsewhere. Typically, Beijing sends a special envoy for such occasions instead.During Trump’s first inauguration in January 2017, Cui Tiankai, then China’s ambassador to the United States, received an invitation, according to Beijing’s foreign ministry, whose spokesperson said it was customary for Washington to extend invitations to foreign envoys.Records from the U.S. State Department, which date back to 1874, show that no foreign head of state has ever attended a swearing-in ceremony. Instead, invitations and tickets are usually allocated to Congress members and the general public.Trump has outlined a series of new tariffs that he plans to implement on his first day in office, with a particular focus on products from China. During his presidential campaign, Trump floated the idea of imposing tariffs as high as 60 percent on Chinese imports. More recently, he also threatened to introduce an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports due to the regime’s role in the fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration in the United States.Meanwhile, China is grappling with a sluggish economy. The country has faced a real estate crisis, rising local government debt, record-high youth unemployment levels, and weak domestic consumption, which are all dragging down the growth of the world’s second-largest economy.

Political conflicts between the CCP’s higher echelons are escalating, exacerbating the economic problems. Last month, a high-ranking officer widely regarded as Xi’s buddy was suspended on corruption charges. The abrupt shake-up comes after the removal of two defence ministers, increasing suspicions about Xi’s hold on power. Some commentators have viewed these occurrences as an indicator of intensifying factional fights within the Party, raising concerns about the stability of his rule.