China says vice-president to attend Trump inauguration

China said Friday that President Xi Jinping would send Vice President Han Zheng to attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, vowing to “enhance dialogue” with the new administration.

Trump, who was elected for the second time in November, will be sworn into office in Washington on Monday.

Last month, his transition team confirmed that Trump had broken with precedent to invite Xi and other world leaders to the ceremony.

Beijing’s foreign ministry said Friday that Han would attend as Xi’s “special representative”.

“China follows the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in viewing and growing its relationship with the United States,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

“We stand ready to work with the new US government to enhance dialogue and communication (and) properly manage differences,” the spokesperson said.

Beijing was keen to “jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other”.

Trump waged a bitter trade war with China during his first term, slapping onerous tariffs on imports from the world’s second-largest economy.

He has threatened to impose more severe measures this time around, accusing Beijing of unfair trade practices and contributing to a devastating fentanyl crisis in the United States.