Hong Kong media reports that U.S. Secretary of State Rubio will accompany President Trump on his visit to China at the end of this month.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post quoted sources on Friday as saying that Rubio, who previously appeared indifferent to Beijing’s invitation, will visit China alongside Trump later this month. Rubio had been invited to visit China before, but only recently has he been willing to accept Beijing’s invitation.
Rubio's accompaniment of Trump to China may help to ease some of the setbacks encountered in the preparations for Trump’s visit.
Earlier, the White House revealed that Trump will visit China from March 31 to April 2. However, the lack of clear communication between China and the U.S. regarding the expectations and objectives of Trump’s visit has left Beijing feeling troubled.
According to the report, before China hosts a U.S. president for a state visit, it typically first receives senior U.S. officials who pave the way for the visit. Before Trump's last visit to China in 2017, the U.S. sent the Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce months ahead to coordinate with China. This time, Beijing is dissatisfied that the White House has deviated from this usual practice.
In an effort to signal to the outside world that both sides are still working to make the summit happen, U.S. Treasury Secretary Besant and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will hold a new round of talks in Paris this Sunday, usually focused on trade issues.
Labeled by China as an “anti-China hardliner,” Rubio was sanctioned by Beijing twice in 2020 for his criticism of human rights issues in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. On January 20 last year, the U.S. Senate confirmed Rubio as Secretary of State.
When asked at a regular press conference on January 22 last year whether Rubio’s change of Chinese translation for his name (formerly Lubi'ao) would remove his sanctions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded that she had not noticed this detail, emphasized the importance of his English name, and reiterated that China's sanctions target words and deeds that harm China’s legitimate interests.