Donald Trump invited China’s Xi to presidential inauguration: report

President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inauguration, CBS News reported Wednesday evening, citing several anonymous sources.

In early November, Trump asked Xi to come to the Jan. 20 ceremony, but it was not clear whether he accepted, CBS News said. The report could not be independently verified Newsweek, who emailed the Trump-Vance transition team seeking comment.

According to the report, Trump’s team has also considered inviting other world leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s transition spokeswoman and new press secretary, told CBS News: “World leaders are lining up to meet with President Trump because they know he will soon return to power, backed by American strength all around will restore peace to the globe.”

Trump has appointed several China hawks to his Cabinet, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to head the State Department and Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, one of the most vocal China critics in Congress, as his national security adviser. Both are Republicans.

When Trump returns to office, he is expected to have frequent dealings with China. Trump made a point of positioning himself as tough on China and using tariffs to start a trade war with Beijing.

Xi pushed back in 2020 ahead of that year’s presidential election, saying: “In today’s world, any unilateralism, protectionism and any ideology of extreme self-interest are completely useless, and any blackmail, blockade and extreme pressure are completely useless.”

“Any action that focuses only on itself and any attempts to engage in hegemony and bullying simply won’t work – not only won’t it work, but it will lead to a dead end,” Xi said.

Trump has vowed to reinstate Chinese tariffs and plans to impose tariffs of up to 60 percent on Chinese imports. However, much has changed since Trump left office, including China’s increased aggression against Taiwan and throughout the South China Sea.

Trump says he believes Taiwan should pay the U.S. more for its defense and he vowed to limit Chinese ownership of U.S. land and resources.

However, Trump has shown some flexibility when it comes to China: During his first term in office, the president-elect advocated for a ban on the Chinese app TikTok; Now that the ban is about to be implemented through President Joe Biden’s initiative, Trump has spoken out against a ban.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Update, 12/11/24 at 7:35 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional context and information.