WASHINGTON – Chinese President Xi Jinping is not expected to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration in January after the American president-elect had personally offered an invite to the ceremony, according to news reports.
CBS News first reported on Thursday that the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. and his wife will attend the swearing-in ceremony and that other officials from Beijing could also join. CNN similarly reported that a delegation of senior Chinese officials are expected to attend in place of the Chinese president.
Trump previously praised Jinping as a “brilliant guy” and a “very good friend,” despite Jinping leading an authoritarian government and squashing pro-democracy activism. But Trump has taken a hard economic stance on China, saying that he plans to sign an executive order imposing an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods coming into the U.S.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, confirmed Trump’s invitation to Jinping in a Fox and Friends interview on Thursday, adding that Jinping’s attendance was “to be determined. She also said that Trump had offered an invitation to other world leaders, without giving further details.
Trump said Thursday in New York that he was thinking about “inviting certain people” to his inauguration, though he did not specify who.
“And some people said, ‘Wow, that’s a little risky, isn’t it?’” Trump said. “And I said, ‘Maybe it is. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens.’ But we like to take little chances.”
The Chinese embassy in Washington told USA TODAY that it had no information to share regarding Jinping’s invitation to Trump’s inauguration. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
