Donald Trump’s inauguration, which is scheduled to start in a few hours, is set to be different than his predecessors. Thanks to frigid temperatures, the inauguration ceremony — set to be the costliest in American history — has been moved
indoors.
But that’s not the only change that one shall see at the inauguration. For the first time, world leaders have been called for the event with invitations sent out to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. And while China’s Xi isn’t attending the event today (January 20), the Chinese leader has sent Vice President Han Zheng.
And in the run-up to the big day, Zheng has met incoming US Vice President JD Vance as well as
‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk.
In his meeting with Vance, Han reaffirmed China’s commitment to a “long and fruitful” relationship. China’s Xinhua media also reported that the Chinese leader said Beijing was ready to work with Washington to “implement the important consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and President-elect Trump.
In his meeting with Musk, Han urged Tesla and other US firms to “seize the opportunity and share in the fruits of China’s development, and make new and greater contributions to promoting China-US economic and trade relations”, reported Xinhua. The Chinese state media added that Musk, in turn, said Tesla was keen “to deepen investment cooperation with China” as well as play an “active role” in trade between the two countries.
We take a closer look at who exactly is Han Zheng and his significance at Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
Who is Han Zheng?
Following Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election last November, Donald Trump extended an invitation to China’s Xi Jinping for his inauguration on January 20. At the time, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed the same, saying it was “an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too.”
While it seemed unlikely that Xi would accept Trump’s invitation — he has severely curtailed his foreign visits since the Covid-19 pandemic — the Chinese leader deputed his vice president, Han Zheng, for the event.
While being vice president is hugely symbolic in China, Han is personally an influential figure in Chinese politics. He was a member of Politburo Standing Committee, the Chinese Communist Party’s highest body, from 2017 to 2022. He retired from the Politburo Standing Committee at the 20th Party Congress in October 2022, and instead took up a post in the government as vice president.
According to a BBC report, Han is known as “number eight” – the most senior leader after the seven men in the Politburo Standing Committee.
Previously, Han also served as Xi’s aide when the latter was the party secretary in Shanghai. As China’s vice president, Han has focused on foreign affairs. He led a group to promote Xi’s ambitious
Belt and Road initiative and even headed a steering committee on the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
He has also represented his country at international events — he attended Indonesian President
Prabowo Subianto’s inauguration last October as well as the coronation of
Britain’s King Charles III in May.
Why did Xi choose Han Zheng for Trump’s inauguration?
In sending Han to Washington for Trump’s big day, Xi is sending a message to the US as well as the world that it wants to work with the new Trump government to “find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other in the new era”. In fact, when China made the announcement of Han going to the US, the foreign ministry spokesperson said that Beijing follows the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in viewing and growing its relationship with the United States.
“We stand ready to work with the new US government to enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other.”
Han’s attendance at Trump’s inauguration is also significant considering the incoming US president’s hawkish signals. The US president-elect has vowed to implement
new tariffs as high as 60 per cent on imported Chinese products. He has also pushed Beijing to crack down on Chinese chemical producers that supply the ingredients for fentanyl to Mexican cartels.
Moreover, Trump has included some very combative personalities in his Cabinet, who hold very strong opinions on Beijing. For instance, Trump’s pick for Secretary of State
Marco Rubio labelled China the “biggest threat” to the United States’ continued prosperity and national security. Trump’s choice for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, also said the country must live up to the unfulfilled promises made in the trade deal reached under Trump’s first administration in 2020.
“China has not made good on their ag purchases for four years,” Bessent said. “If confirmed, next week I would start pushing for them to resume the purchases” – and, he added, he would discuss with Trump whether additional “catch-up” purchases should be required after China missed its commitments over the past five years.
But with sending Han, China, perhaps, is signalling for a reset in Sino-US ties. Hoo Tiang Boon, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Social Sciences, told Channel News Asia, “Beijing wants to send a signal that (they) do not want to be seen as being unnecessarily problematic or difficult.”
Meanwhile, Neil Thomas, a fellow in Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that Xi’s decision to send Han to the US is a sign that he “wants to get Trump into deal-making mode, but [he] does not want to be a supporting actor in the Trump show on January 20”.
Others also note that sending Han is a “safe choice” for Xi. Explaining this, Boon said, “Han is not somebody seen as being part of Xi’s inner circle at the present moment.”
He further added that it’s a “middle ground move” — addressing America’s expectations” of receiving a “senior-level” figure from China, and at the same time “not giving them exactly what they want”.
“If things don’t turn out (well) … that’s fine because he’s the vice president, not somebody with any significant influence,” Hoo told Channel News Asia.
There’s also reports that Han may help set the ground for
Trump’s China visit. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the incoming president has expressed interest to his advisers in him visiting Beijing. The last time Trump visited China was in 2017 nearly a year into his first term, touring the Forbidden City and taking in a Peking Opera performance.
We shall have to wait and watch how US-Sino relations go forward. But with Trump at the helm, it remains a mystery.
With inputs from agencies