Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State sanctioned by Beijing, will take part in Donald Trump's upcoming trip to China, according to sources. Rubio had previously appeared reluctant to visit despite invitations. His attendance could help address frustrations in Beijing over the lack of preparation for the trip.
Marco Rubio, the formerly hawkish US Secretary of State, was sanctioned by Beijing twice in 2020 while still a senator. The first set of penalties came in retaliation for US sanctions on Chinese officials over their alleged mistreatment of the Uygur ethnic minority group, and the second in response to another round targeting mainland and Hong Kong officials following the 2019 protests.
According to sources speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, Rubio had been invited to visit but had not been receptive until recently.
Rubio’s attendance could smooth over some of the problems surrounding Trump’s visit to China. Frustration has been mounting in Beijing because of the lack of preparation for the trip. China has yet to clarify whether the sanctions would be waived, but when asked about the matter in January last year, the foreign ministry said it was necessary to maintain high-level communication between Chinese and American officials.
Keywords in the article include Tsinghua University, Paris, Washington, Taiwan, Munich Security Conference, Hong Kong, Beijing, China, Uygur, Xi Jinping, and Wang Yi, though the piece does not elaborate on these.
