عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

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
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Trump Returning to Power after Unprecedented Comeback, Emboldened to Reshape American Institutions

US President Joe Biden (R) looks on as President-elect Donald Trump arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden (R) looks on as President-elect Donald Trump arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (AFP)
TT
TT

Trump Returning to Power after Unprecedented Comeback, Emboldened to Reshape American Institutions

US President Joe Biden (R) looks on as President-elect Donald Trump arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden (R) looks on as President-elect Donald Trump arrives for the inauguration ceremony before Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (AFP)

Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, arrived at the US Capitol to be sworn in as the 47th president Monday, taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country's institutions.

Trump will act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.

He plans to declare the beginning of “a thrilling new era of national success” as “a tide of change is sweeping the country," according to excerpts of his inaugural address.

The executive orders are the first step in what Trump will call “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense."

Frigid weather is rewriting the pageantry of the day. Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda — the first time that has happened in 40 years — and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at a downtown arena. Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.

“We needed a change. The country was going in the wrong direction in so many ways, economically, geopolitically, so many social issues at home," said Joe Morse, 56, of New Jersey, who got in line with his sons at 11 p.m. Sunday and secured a spot on the main floor at Capitol One Arena to watch a livestream of the inauguration.

Trump began the day alongside much of his incoming Cabinet with a prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. He and his wife, Melania, were later greeted at the North Portico of the executive mansion by outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea and coffee reception. It was a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory or attend his inauguration.

“Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump after the president-elect stepped out of the car. The two presidents, who have spent years bitterly criticizing each other, shared a limo on the way to the Capitol.

When Trump takes the oath of office at noon, he will realize a political comeback without precedent in American history. Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power. He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.

But Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.

“I am ready for a new United States,” said Cynde Bost, 63, from Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Now Trump will be the first person convicted of a felony — for falsifying business records related to hush money payments — to serve as president. He will pledge to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution from the same spot that was overrun by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. He’s said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.

Eight years after he first entered the White House as a political newcomer, Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision. Trump wants to bring quick change by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats’ climate and social initiatives.

He has also promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.

Hours before the inauguration, Biden issued preemptive pardons to current and former government officials who have been the target of Trump's anger, shielding them from the possibility of prosecution. Biden said in a statement that “these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”

Trump has pledged to go further and move faster in enacting his agenda than during his first term, and already the country's political, business and technology leaders have realigned themselves to accommodate Trump. Democrats who once formed a “resistance” are now divided over whether to work with Trump or defy him. Billionaires have lined up to meet with Trump as they acknowledge his unrivaled power in Washington and ability to wield the levers of government to help or hurt their interests.

Long skeptical of American alliances, Trump's “America First” foreign policy is being watched warily at home and abroad as Russia's invasion of Ukraine will soon enter its third year, and a fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Gaza after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

At the Capitol, Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn-in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother. Trump will follow, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administers his oath.

A cadre of billionaires and tech titans who have sought to curry favor with Trump and have donated handsomely to his inaugural festivities, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, will be in attendance.

Also present will be the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app deemed a national security risk by the US Trump has promised to lift an effective ban on TikTok through one of many executive orders expected to be issued on Monday as the new president attempts to show quick progress.

Trump is planning to swiftly reinstitute his 2020 playbook to crackdown on the southern border — again declaring a national emergency, limiting the number of refugees entering the US and deploying the military. He's expected to take additional actions — including constitutionally questionable ones — such as attempting to end birthright citizenship automatically bestowed on people born in the US.

Others orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Biden's recent directive on artificial intelligence.

With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming administration on legislation that will further roll back Biden's policies and institute their own priorities.