The Chinese President's Envoy Meets with Vance and Musk on the Eve of Trump's Inauguration

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attends a meeting with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 11, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attends a meeting with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 11, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo
TT
20

The Chinese President's Envoy Meets with Vance and Musk on the Eve of Trump's Inauguration

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attends a meeting with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 11, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attends a meeting with Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 11, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool/File Photo

China's vice president held meetings with the US vice president-elect and US business leaders, including Elon Musk, in Washington on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, as the two major powers tackle ongoing tensions over trade and technology.
Han Zheng, who serves as an envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the inauguration, “discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade and regional stability” with J.D. Vance, according to the Trump transition team, The Associated Press said.
Han stressed the “extensive common interests and enormous space of cooperation” the United States and China share in economic and trade relations despite “some disagreements and frictions,” according to a readout of his meeting with Vance issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and other measures against China in his second term, while also hinting at ways in which the two rival powers could cooperate on issues such as regional conflicts and curbing the export of substances used in the production of fentanyl.
In an unorthodox move, Trump last month invited Xi to his inauguration. No head of state has previously made an official visit to the US for the inauguration, according to State Department historical records.
While Xi will not personally attend the event, he and Trump held a phone call on Friday during which they discussed trade, fentanyl and TikTok. The Chinese social media app restored service to users in the US on Sunday, just hours after it went dark in response to a federal ban, which Trump said he would pause by executive order on Monday.
Han also met with Musk and other top US business executives, including representatives of the US-China Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese vice president reiterated promises for an improved business environment for foreign firms in China and expressed hopes that US companies will continue expanding investment in the country.
Musk, whose company Tesla operates a factory in Shanghai, posted on his platform X after the meeting that he has long opposed the TikTok ban “because it goes against freedom of speech.”
“That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced,” he wrote. “Something needs to change.”
X is banned in China alongside other major US social media and news apps and websites, including YouTube, Google, Facebook and many major US media.



North Korea Vows to Build New Navy Destroyer by October 2026

This handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 12, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan.  (Photo by RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 12, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan. (Photo by RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT / AFP)
TT
20

North Korea Vows to Build New Navy Destroyer by October 2026

This handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 12, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan.  (Photo by RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 12, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan. (Photo by RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / HANDOUT / AFP)

North Korean officials and shipyard workers pledged to complete construction of a new navy destroyer warship by October 10 next year, state news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.

Video footage from North Korea's state-run television KRT accompanying the news showed shipbuilding workers standing to attention listening to speeches at the Nampho shipyard, as well as several cranes and people nearby working with safety helmets and uniforms.

In June, North Korea restored a 5,000-ton destroyer that was damaged during an earlier failed launch attempt, with leader Kim Jong Un pledging a more modern naval fleet to enhance the country's maritime power in the Pacific Ocean against what he said were provocations by the United States and its allies, according to KCNA.