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President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inauguration, CBS News reported Wednesday evening, citing multiple anonymous sources.
Early in November, Trump asked Xi to come to the January 20 ceremony, but it is not clear if he has accepted, CBS News said. The report could not be independently verified by Newsweek, which reached out by email to the Trump-Vance transition team for comment.
Trump’s team has also considered inviting other world leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to the report.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s transition spokesperson and incoming press secretary, told CBS News, “World leaders are lining up to meet with President Trump because they know he will soon return to power and restore peace through American strength around the globe.”
Trump has named several China hawks to his Cabinet, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio to lead the State Department and Florida Representative 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 can expect to deal with China frequently. He has vowed to impose 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, says he believes Taiwan should be paying the U.S. more for its defense, and promises to place limits on Chinese ownership of U.S. land and resources.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.