Who is Han Zheng, China's representative at Trump's inauguration?

In an unorthodox move, US President-elect Donald Trump has invited several foreign leaders to his inauguration in Washington on Monday, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

No head of state has previously made an official visit to the US for the inauguration. In Beijing's case, senior officials never received the invitation, either.

On Monday however, Vice President Han Zheng, a trusted advisor to Xi, will be there to represent China.

Beijing's decision to send Han, rather than its ambassador to Washington as is usual, appears to be a carefully calibrated signal that it is willing to improve relations with the US, while not leaving Xi exposed to criticism should ties worsen.

Who is Han, and why is his presence at the Washington fete crucial to US-China relations?

A silent diplomat

Like many young Chinese, Han, who was born in the financial centre of Shanghai, was sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution on orders from then-leader Mao Zedong to “learn from the peasants”.

He worked at a collective farm in Chongming, followed by a stint as a warehouse worker and an employee of the same company's marketing division.

Upon his return to Shanghai, Han rose up the ranks during the 1980s and 1990s, just as China's economy was catching fire, concurrently holding Communist Party and managerial positions in the chemical and rubber industries.

There, he caught the eye of senior leaders and was elevated to district-level governance before becoming the city's mayor and then party secretary, the city's highest position, following a financial scandal involving his predecessor.

Xi also briefly held the same position before becoming China's new leader. He employed Han as his advisor, strengthening the ties between the two.

In 2017, Han reached the apex of Chinese political power, the party's seven-member Politburo Standing Committee.

After serving one five-year term, he was given the position of vice president, a position Xi has imbued with new weight as adviser and envoy, known for his discreet approach dubbed "silent diplomacy".

TikTok and trade tariffs

On Sunday, Han met with US vice president-elect JD Vance and domestic business leaders, including Elon Musk.

According to a readout of his meeting with Vance issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, Han stressed the “extensive common interests and enormous space of cooperation” the United States and China share in economic and trade relations despite “some disagreements and frictions."

Many of the most divisive bilateral issues involve trade, with Trump threatening to impose 60% tariffs on imports from China. Relations have also frayed over technology and China’s moves to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

If enacted, Trump's plans to hike tariffs would likely raise prices in America and squeeze sales and profit margins for Chinese exporters. If American customers won’t accept higher prices, they would have no choice but to turn elsewhere.

According to China customs data, the share of China’s exports going to the US has already dropped from 19% in 2018 to 15% last year, even as China’s overall exports are forecast to reach a record high this year.

The Chinese vice president reiterated promises for an improved business environment for foreign firms in China and expressed hope that US companies will continue expanding their investments in the country.

With Musk, Han also discussed the TikTok ban imposed in the US on Sunday.

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• TikTok restoring access in US after Donald Trump pledges to issue executive order

The Chinese social media app restored service to American users on Sunday, just hours after it went dark in response to a federal ban, which Trump said he would pause by executive order on Monday.

Musk, whose company Tesla operates a factory in Shanghai, posted on his platform X after the meeting that he has long opposed the TikTok ban “because it goes against freedom of speech.”

“That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced,” he wrote. “Something needs to change.”

X is banned in China alongside other major US social media and news apps and websites, including YouTube, Google and Facebook.