An invitation, a rejection, what now? Trump and Xi Jinping play mind games

Sun Tzu, a Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who lived around the 5th century BC, is best known for his famous book “The Art of War”. There he wrote a proverb well known throughout the world today: “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” United States President-elect Donald Trump appears to have taken inspiration from Sun Tzu when he invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inaugural ceremony in Washington DC, scheduled for January 20.

President Xi, who may also be familiar with the works of Sun Tzu, read Donald Trump's invitation and politely declined it, according to the latest reports.

Donald Trump's unprecedented decision to invite the Chinese president stunned officials in Washington and many beyond. “A foreign leader has never attended the inauguration of an American president,” the US State Department said after hours of searching for official documents dating back to 1874.

“It is, however, common for ambassadors and other diplomats to attend the president's inauguration ceremony,” the US State Department added.

Amid all the turmoil at the White House – and chaos behind the scenes – Donald Trump's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt decided to give an interview to Fox News. Confirming Xi Jinping's invitation, Ms. Leavitt said: “This is an example of how President Trump is creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not only allies but also our adversaries and competitors.” .

She also said an invitation to Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony was sent to several other foreign leaders besides Xi Jinping, but did not reveal who they were. It is not yet clear whether these “other invitations” were sent on the same day as the one addressed to Xi Jinping, or after Washington learned of the Chinese president's decision not to attend.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, Beijing officials have remained tight-lipped on the issue. However, President Xi had, as recently as Tuesday, warned Washington of expected tariff, trade and technology wars once Trump becomes president. Expecting economic difficulties in the coming weeks and months, President Xi held a crucial meeting with the heads of 10 major international organizations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization ( WTO) in Beijing.

“There will be no winners,” he warned the United States in his speech at that meeting, while referring to tariff hikes, technology bans and trade crackdowns that Donald Trump has vowed to impose on China once he takes charge.

With such a war of words and aggressive posturing on the part of both Trump and Xi, the former's decision to invite the Chinese president to his inauguration ceremony indeed seems both out of place and rather unusual.

Donald Trump has blown hot and cold in his opinions of Xi Jinping – calling him a “brilliant guy” on one occasion and describing him as his enemy on another. An invitation sent, as one would, to an ally on the one hand, and calling China the “biggest threat” on the other.

Speaking about President Xi in his pre-election podcast with Joe Rogan, Trump said: “He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. I mean, he's a brilliant guy, whether you like it or not. ” But in two other interviews, he called Xi Jinping “the biggest threat to the world” and called China the “threat of the century.”

Donald Trump also appointed Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Mike Walz as national security adviser – both staunch critics of China who have kept a hawk's eye on Beijing's every move – so much so that the Chinese government has imposed sanctions on Marco Rubio, and in 2020 banned him from entering the country again – something Beijing will have to reconsider when he takes over as secretary of state.

Weeks before the Trump administration took office, NSA appointee Mike Waltz already urged President-elect Trump to “urgently end the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East to counter the threat leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

All eyes are now on Trump's next move after refusing the invitation, and on Xi Jinping's response. The end of the game is far from being in sight.