WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month — extending a diplomatic olive branch even as Trump threatens to levy massive tariffs on Chinese goods.
What You Need To Know
- President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month
- Trump, with the move, is extending a diplomatic olive branch even as he threatens to levy massive tariffs on Chinese goods once he becomes president
- Trump's incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed on Thursday that Trump invited Xi, but said it was "to be determined" if the leader of the United States' most significant economic and military competitor would attend
- Leavitt, in a Fox News interview, called the invitation "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"
Trump's incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed on Thursday that Trump invited Xi, but said it was "to be determined" if the leader of the United States' most significant economic and military competitor would attend.
"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," Leavitt said in an appearance Fox News. "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."
CBS News first reported the invitation to Xi.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the invitation.
Leavitt said that other foreign leaders have also been invited, but did not provide any details.
Trump on Thursday during an appearance at the New York Stock Exchange, where he was ringing the opening bell to open the market, said he's been "thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration" without referring to any specific individuals.
"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."
Meanwhile, a top aide to Hungarian President Viktor Orban, one of Trump's most vocal supporters on the world stage, said Thursday that Orban isn't slated to attend the inauguration.
"There is no such plan, at least for the time being," said Gergely Gulyás, Orban's chief of staff.
The nationalist Hungarian leader is embraced by Trump but has faced isolation in Europe as he's sought to undermine the European Union's support for Ukraine, and routinely blocked, delayed or watered down the bloc's efforts to provide weapons and funding and to sanction Moscow for its invasion. Orban recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Every country's chief of mission to the United States will also be invited, according to a Trump Inaugural Committee official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The invitation comes as Trump has vowed to enact massive tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China to get those countries to do more to reduce illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States.
He has said that, on his first day in office in January, he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada and that China could be hit with even higher tariffs.
China produces precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl, but Beijing has stepped up efforts over the last year to crack down on the export of the chemicals.
"We've been talking and discussing with President Xi, some things, and others, other world leaders, and I think we're going to do very well all around," Trump said in a CNBC interview Thursday.
Xi during a meeting with President Joe Biden last month in Beijing urged the United States not to start a trade war.
"Make the wise choice," Xi cautioned. "Keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other."