Trump invites China’s Xi Jinping to swearing-in ceremony, know who else Trump has invited

President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his swearing-in ceremony next month, with inauguration officials planning to include additional foreign dignitaries at the swearing-in ceremony.

Sources said Trump invited Xi in early November, shortly after the election, but it was unclear whether he accepted the invitation. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

Apart from Xi, the president-elect’s team may host other leaders at the Capitol on January 20. Hungary’s far-right leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has a warm relationship with Trump and met him at Mar-a-Lago this week, is “still considering” whether he will attend, according to a source familiar with Orban’s plans.

“World leaders are lining up to meet President Trump because they know he will soon be back in power and will restore peace around the world through American strength,” Trump spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said.

Ambassadors and other diplomats are usually invited to the swearing-in ceremony, but State Department records dating back to 1874 show no foreign leader has attended a transfer of power ceremony.

Those close to Trump remain sharp critics of Xi’s government, including Senator Marco Rubio, his choice as secretary of state, and incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Trump himself has threatened to raise tariffs on goods coming from China. The US has set a January 19 deadline, the eve of his swearing-in, for TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the social media app or face a ban in the US. TikTok is fighting the ban in court – it lost a lawsuit to stop the ban last week, but is appealing the case to the Supreme Court.

But Trump also believes that close relationships between leaders are crucial to international bargaining. Since election day, leaders from around the world have been travelling to Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Argentine President Javier Melli has also been granted a private meeting with the president-elect.

French President Emmanuel Macron was the first world leader to host Trump abroad since he won the 2024 election. Italian Prime Minister Giordano Meloni, Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky and Prince William were also present at the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Trump was virtually unknown on the world stage at his first swearing-in in 2017. This time around, world leaders are looking at Trump essentially as a sitting president.