ISTANBUL

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, serving as President Xi Jinping’s special representative, will attend Monday’s presidential inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington, DC.

Han will attend the ceremony at the invitation of the US, said the country’s Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Beijing upholds the “principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation in its approach to relations with the US,” said the statement, voicing China’s readiness to collaborate with the new US administration to strengthen dialogue and communication, effectively handle differences, broaden mutually beneficial cooperation, and jointly strive for a stable, healthy, and sustainable relationship.

The statement said that China’s goal is to establish a constructive path for the two nations to coexist in the new era.

It is the first time such a high-level Chinese official will attend a US presidential inauguration.

Earlier, reports emerged that soon after his victory last November, Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the official ceremony, marking his second inauguration after his first term in 2017-2021.

Trump’s move has reportedly upset some traditional US allies, taking exception at how he invited the leader of a major US rival rather than one of its Western partners.