US President-elect Donald Trump invites China's Xi Jinping to inauguration next month: report | World News

US President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month, CBS reported, citing multiple sources.

The invitation could reflect an effort by Trump to woo his Chinese counterpart just as he threatens new tariffs against the world's second-largest economy.

Xi's presence, however, would be unprecedented: no Chinese leader has ever participated in an inauguration ceremony of the American president, which is generally attended by ambassadors. No foreign head of state has participated in more than a century, according to State Department records dating back to 1874.

There would also be enormous political risks for Xi if he attended, as well as the potential discomfort of sitting outside for hours on a cold January day in Washington. Low temperatures 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.

Additionally, Trump regularly goes off-script during his public speeches, making surprise announcements and even jokes that sometimes don't land. This week, the president-elect designated Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as 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.

China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump 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.

Biden did not go to China during his term, in part because of travel disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The leaders of the world's two largest economies usually take turns visiting each other. If the trend continues, it will be the turn of American presidents to travel.

The United States and China are preparing for a new confrontation after Trump's campaign to implement 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.

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 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 Taiwan's independence , 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.

Trump has tapped a number of China hawks to lead his new administration's economic and security portfolios.

He named 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.

But Trump also chose former Sen. David Perdue as ambassador to China, recruiting a businessman with experience working in Asia who could offer a potentially moderate voice on policy toward Beijing.

In announcing the nomination, Trump said Perdue would be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain peace in the region and in a productive working relationship with Chinese leaders.