Chinese President Xi Jinping is dispatching a high-ranking official to the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, in lieu of Ambassador Xie Feng, in a move that breaks tradition. Xi's move suggests an eagerness to lower tensions early in Trump's second term in the White House. Washington and Beijing remain at loggerheads over a range of contentious issues, from trade and Beijing's aggression toward Taiwan to Chinese economic and political support for Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to significantly raise tariffs on imported Chinese goods, a move that would further escalate the trade war that began during his first term and Beijing warns could harm bilateral ties and hit American consumers in the pocketbook.
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