Report: Trump Invites Xi Jinping to Inauguration

Above: Donald Trump and Xi Jinping outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017. Image copyright: Qilai Shen/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

Trump's invitation to Xi hints at a complex diplomatic dance. Despite surrounding himself with China hawks, Trump offers a paradoxical approach — aggressive yet willing to negotiate. His unique foreign policy style suggests an opportunity for engagement, potentially disrupting the Cold War narrative and offering a nuanced path forward in US-China relations that defies conventional diplomatic expectations.

Pro-establishment narrative

Xi is unlikely to attend Trump's inauguration. Historically, no Chinese head of state has personally graced a US presidential transition, instead sending representatives. The intricate diplomatic choreography and Trump's transitional uncertainties make Xi's attendance improbable, and reflect ongoing, unresolved complexities in US-China relations.

Metaculus Prediction

There's a 9% chance that there will be a US-China war before 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.



Go Deeper


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

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