Donald Trump invites China's Xi Jinping to his January 20 inauguration

Donald Trump. Pic/AFP

US President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration on January 20, according to his spokesperson.

"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," the incoming White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitte told Fox News in an interview on Thursday.

"We saw this in the first term. He got a lot of criticism for it, but it led to peace around the world. He is willing to talk to anyone. He will always put America's interest first," she said. Leavitt, however, did not say if the invitation had been accepted by the Chinese president.

The White House preferred not to comment on the merit of the invitation. "It is going to be up to President-elect Trump to decide who's going to sit with him there at that inauguration, who's going to be there," John Kirby from the White House told reporters.

"We have worked really hard on this most consequential of bilateral relationships. The president met with Xi Jinping a number of times, including recently. And as you get ready to turn over things to the Trump team, we're turning over a US-China relationship that is in better shape than the one we found it in. That doesn't mean that we don't have disagreements," Kirby said.

"We do and we will and I'm sure they will too, but we're working hard on this relationship and we'll do that right to the end," he said. Responding to a question, Kirby said it was not his place to pass judgment on the invitations to the inauguration.

"That's really for the Trump transition team' (The relationship) is without doubt the single most consequential bilateral relationship that the United States has in the world. And it is a relationship that is both fraught with peril and with opportunity," he said.

"When we get ready to turn over to the Trump team, we will make sure they are fully informed about everything President Biden has done, and he has done a lot, to get this relationship on a more stable footing and it will be up to them to determine how and to what degree they want to carry that forward," Kirby said.

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