Han Zheng attends US inauguration for China-US reset [Video]

Chinese leader Xi Jinping may not have personally accepted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to his inauguration, but Beijing has taken the rare step of dispatching a top official to join the swearing-in ceremony in Washington.Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attended Monday’s inauguration after meeting incoming U.S. Vice President JD Vance Sunday, in a trip observers say is a significant – but potentially risky – goodwill gesture as Beijing looks to avert major friction with Trump and his incoming cabinet of China hawks.While Han is the most senior Chinese official to attend a U.S. inauguration, his position of vice president is largely symbolic within China’s political system. True authority lies with the ruling Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, from which Han retired in 2022.But sending a high-profile official – and one who has previously represented Xi at international events including the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III – signals …