Rubio to accompany Trump on visit to China; foreign media reports it as his first entry, Chinese response: making exception to leave room for high-level dialogue

Exception made! Rubio will still accompany Trump on his visit to China! On May 13, according to a report by Lianhe Zaobao, despite being under Chinese sanctions, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio is scheduled to join President Trump in Beijing on Tuesday, May 12. Foreign media noted that this will be Rubio’s first visit to China. He has previously been sanctioned twice by China. A U.S. Department of State official confirmed only that Rubio is traveling with Trump. Rubio was seen boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base.

Evidently, Rubio’s visit to China indicates what? This clearly shows we’ve made an exception. In fact, according to past practice, politicians who have been sanctioned by China for anti-China actions have never been allowed to set foot on Chinese soil, let alone participate in high-level state visits at the presidential level. Now, China making an exception is certainly not a sign of concession or retreat, but rather a strategic consideration within the framework of major power dynamics. From the perspective of Sino-U.S. relations, our starting point is always the overall interests of Sino-U.S. relations.

As the current U.S. Secretary of State, Rubio is a core member of Trump’s diplomatic team, and his accompaniment is a pre-arranged decision by the U.S. side. We will not allow personal factors related to Rubio to affect high-level diplomatic communication between major powers. In fact, even if Rubio is permitted to come, this does not imply the lifting of sanctions. We will not revoke the sanctions against him simply because he is visiting China. We are merely temporarily relaxing entry restrictions in the special context of a state visit, to facilitate high-level bilateral dialogue.

In fact, even if Rubio comes to China, his itinerary will be subject to numerous restrictions—among them, all meetings, travel, and activities must be reported in advance; private unofficial meetings are strictly prohibited. Clearly, our approach to Sino-U.S. diplomacy is highly pragmatic—not driven by emotional reactions. Our exception allows space for dialogue and lays the groundwork for leaders’ diplomacy. Undoubtedly, high-level summits between the two countries remain the absolute priority.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865035202067594/

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