China is sending Vice President Han Zheng to US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, the first time a senior Chinese leader will witness a US president being sworn in.
Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping, among other leaders, in a break with tradition, as foreign leaders traditionally do not attend the inauguration of a US president.
China said it wants to work with the new US government to “find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other in the new era”.
But Beijing is also preparing for what a Trump presidency is expected to include new tariffs on Chinese imports and more combative rhetoric – Marco Rubio, the nominee for secretary of state, described China as “the biggest, most advanced adversary America has ever faced.”
As president, Xi never attended an inauguration or coronation ceremony, choosing instead to send a representative on his own behalf. The Chinese ambassador to the US attended the last two presidential inaugurations in 2017. and 2021
However, Beijing has sent vice presidents to similar ceremonies elsewhere – Khan attended the inauguration of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in October 2023. And his predecessor Van Keeshan attended the 2022 inauguration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Brazilian President Lula da Silva in 2023.
Xi's decision to send Khan to the US is a sign that he “wants to get Trump into deal-making mode, but (he) doesn't want to be a supporting actor on the Trump show on January 20,” says Neil Thomas, fellow in China politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Other foreign leaders invited to the inauguration include Argentine President Javier Millais and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Trump spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt told US media that the invitation to Xi was “an example of Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not only our allies but also our adversaries and competitors.”
It could also be an attempt by Trump to show the world that “he has the ability to influence Xi's decision-making and they have a special relationship,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington.
Earlier reports suggested that some Trump advisers wanted Cai Qi to attend. Considered Xi's right-hand man, Tsai, 66, is a member of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, China's equivalent of a cabinet.
The Financial Times quoted an unnamed insider as saying that Trump would be “displeased” if the Chinese envoy present was “only at the level of Han or (Foreign Minister) Wang Yi”. The BBC was unable to verify these claims.
But as vice president, Han, 70, occupies “a very senior role in the Chinese state system” and the decision to send him “is in agreement with Trump,” said Chong Ja-Yan, a foreign scholar at Carnegie China.
Khan, who was appointed vice president in March 2023, is known as “Number Eight” – the highest-ranking leader after the seven men on the Politburo Standing Committee.
Khan was also a member until October 2022, when Xi began a historic third term in power and appointed his most trusted deputies to the best jobs.
Before that, Han spent most of his political career in Shanghai, where he was born. In 2007 he served as an aide to Xi when the latter was party secretary in Shanghai, before later assuming the post himself in 2012.
Foreign affairs were a key focus for him in his time as vice president. He leads a group to promote the Belt and Road Initiative – a key Chinese trade and infrastructure project – and heads a steering committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics. in Beijing.
But the fact that Khan no longer sits on the Politburo Standing Committee may have been a key factor in Beijing's decision to send him.
“If US-China relations deteriorate from the party's point of view, Xi and the party will be able to show that they are keeping some distance from Trump,” said Prof. Chong.
And it also helps that Khan is not considered part of Xi's inner circle, according to Mr Thomas.
“Xi trusts Han enough to undertake this mission, but Han is not a key ally and can easily be blamed if it goes horribly wrong.”