候选总统特朗普邀请中国国家主席习近平参加总统就职典礼（“Politico\'新闻）

President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to his inauguration, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

In an appearance on “Fox and Friends,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who will serve as press secretary in the new administration, confirmed a CBS News report that Trump invited Xi to attend his inauguration.

“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. “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.”

Leavitt did not say whether Xi had yet accepted the invitation to attend the inauguration, saying “to be determined” when asked by the panel of Fox hosts.

A spokesperson for Beijing’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a query as to whether Xi planned to attend the inauguration.

The news of the invitation comes as the outgoing Biden administration and Beijing have found themselves in a tit-for-tat battle over export controls for semiconductor chips. China has restricted the ability of U.S. firms to import critical minerals mined in its territory like gallium and germanium that are essential for high-tech manufacturing, in response to U.S. bans on equipment used to manufacture high-powered computer chips.

But on other fronts, the Biden administration has sought to ease the long-tense bilateral relationship and reduce conflict around hotspots like the South China Sea and Taiwan. China and the United States have brokered new agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in the deployment of nuclear weapons and efforts to counter fentanyl trafficking over the last few months. Lines of communication between U.S. and Chinese military counterparts were also restored in late 2023 after over a year of silence between both countries.

The invitation also comes as Trump has vowed to impose new tariffs on China and tow a tough line on Beijing. That said, Trump has shown indications he wants to dialogue with the U.S. adversary — he and Xi spoke on the phone shortly after Trump was declared the winner of the November election.