Trump extended Xi Longshot's invitation to inauguration, CBS reports

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(Bloomberg) U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month, CBS reported, a move that would be both highly unusual and unlikely to take place.

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After a presidential campaign in which Trump pledged to impose a series of high tariffs on Chinese imports, an invitation to the Jan. 20 inauguration would signal that the world's two largest economies can still maintain communication and maybe even cooperate.

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This does not mean that this is likely to happen.

For starters, Xi's presence would be unprecedented in many ways: No Chinese leader has ever attended a U.S. inauguration, which is typically attended by ambassadors in addition to U.S. lawmakers and the general public. In fact, no foreign head of state has attended an inaugural ceremony in at least a century, according to State Department records dating back to 1874.

Participating would also carry enormous political risks. Trump regularly goes off-script during his speeches, making surprise announcements and even jokes that sometimes don't land. This week, he referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau online as the governor of the great state of Canada. This came just days after the two leaders met in Florida following Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

A similar episode with Xi sitting in the audience unable to respond publicly could harm U.S.-China relations more than the invitation would help. Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, called reports of the invitation, which CBS said it obtained from multiple sources, a simple power play.

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If Xi were to come, he should sit in the audience at the Capitol to pay tribute to the president's rise to power, Kennedy said. And Washington should treat Xi as a highly respected dignitary in Western circles, which seems too far from reality.

Asked about the CBS report on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said she had no response to offer at this time.

Given his long history of unconventional policy moves, it is unclear whether Trump extended his offer in the hope that Xi would accept it or simply as a gesture.

The president-elect said in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press that aired last weekend that he had recently communicated with Xi, but declined to say what they discussed. They last met in person in June 2019 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan.

Trump has met with and courted several foreign leaders, including a trip to Paris last weekend where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Beyond the political risks for Xi, there would also be the potential discomfort of sitting outside for hours on a folding chair on a cold January day in Washington. Although presidential inaugurations are big affairs, like many sporting events, they are often better viewed on television than experienced in person.

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Cold, windy weather during President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration generated memes of politicians such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, who sat huddled in a thick jacket, Covid mask and gloves on the inauguration stage .

Xi congratulated Trump after his election victory and expressed his desire to maintain stable relations, but has on other occasions sought to set boundaries with the new administration by citing four red lines in bilateral relations.

His warning

In his latest meeting with President Joe Biden, Xi warned against any steps to undermine the Communist Party's grip on power, push the nation toward democracy, contain its economic boom or encourage independence of Taiwan, the autonomous island claimed by Beijing.

China is also exacerbating trade tensions by banning the export of several materials with high-tech and military applications.

Earlier this week, Xi said the trade and technology wars would have no winners, while reiterating that Beijing was willing to maintain dialogue and manage its differences with Washington.

For now, the United States and China are preparing for a new confrontation after Trump's campaign on implementing drastic tariffs targeting all Chinese products with 60% tariffs. Last month, he pledged to impose an additional 10% tax if Beijing does not help stem the flow of fentanyl across the southern U.S. border.

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In another sign that relations could be rocky, Trump has tapped a number of China hawks to lead his new administration's economic and security portfolios. This includes the appointment of Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser and Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Both called Beijing an adversary and advocated decoupling its economy.

At the same time, Trump said he would nominate former Sen. David Perdue as ambassador to China, recruiting a businessman with experience working in Asia who could offer a potentially moderate voice on Beijing's policies .

It is this mix of mixed signals, including the reported invitation, that has led some analysts to say the invitation could actually improve relations between Beijing and Washington.

Zhu Junwei, a former People's Liberation Army researcher and now director of US research at the Grandview Institution in Beijing, described the invitation as a very Trump move.

He's always trying or coming up with ideas that don't fit past routines, Zhu said. But I believe we need innovative thinking to stabilize and improve China-US relations. We should not limit ourselves to only old approaches.

With help from Airielle Lowe, Chelsea Mes, Jing Li and Alan Wong.

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