Chinese V-P's presence at Trump's inauguration may not matter much

China's decision to send Vice-President Han Zheng for Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington next week appears to be a positive diplomatic signal, as it is a higher level of representation than usual.

- Lim Min Zhang

On Jan 17, China's Foreign Ministry announced that Mr Han would be Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative at the event, which is typically attended by foreign ambassadors and diplomats there, instead of state leaders.

But it may have little bearing on the trajectory of the strategic rivalry between the two superpowers, which has shown no signs of easing amid a flurry of controls and countermeasures over technology in the past week.

As the Biden administration enters its final days, it has imposed additional controls on Chinese semiconductor and artificial intelligence companies.

On Jan 15, the US Commerce Department added 25 China-based companies to its entity list, which prohibits them from receiving technology exports without a licence.

The next day, Beijing launched a probe into US government subsidies to American semiconductor companies, which it said harmed Chinese domestic industry.

As a tussle over a looming US ban on China-owned short-video platform TikTok continues, Trump's Cabinet picks have in recent days made strong remarks on China during their confirmation hearings.

Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent said on Jan 16 that he supported tariffs to counter "unfair trade practices" by China.

Defence Secretary pick Pete Hegseth said on Jan 14 that the Communist Party of China was "front and centre" among foreign threats to the US.