(Headline USA) President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month.
Trump’s incoming press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed on Thursday that Trump invited Xi, but said it was “to be determined” if the leader of the United States’ most significant economic and military competitor would attend.
“This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies, but our adversaries and our competitors too,” Leavitt said in an appearance Fox News. “We saw this in his first term. He got a lot of criticism for it, but it led to peace around this world. He is willing to talk to anyone and he will always put America’s interest first.”
CBS News first reported the invitation to Xi.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the invitation.
Leavitt said that other foreign leaders have also been invited, but did not provide any details.
Trump on Thursday during an appearance at the New York Stock Exchange, where he was ringing the opening bell to open the market, said he’s been “thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration” without referring to any specific individuals.
“And some people said, ‘Wow, that’s a little risky, isn’t it?'” Trump said. “And I said, ‘Maybe it is. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens.’ But we like to take little chances.”
Meanwhile, a top aide to Hungarian President Viktor Orban, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters on the world stage, said Thursday that Orban isn’t slated to attend the inauguration.
“There is no such plan, at least for the time being,” said Gergely Gulyás, Orban’s chief of staff.
Every country’s chief of mission to the United States will also be invited, according to a Trump Inaugural Committee official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
