Vice President-elect JD Vance met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Sunday as he gears up to assume his responsibilities and office, welcoming the foreign official to the United States.
Why It Matters
Vance and President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in on Monday to commence the second Trump administration. Trump spent much of his first administration targeting China on trade and other issues, and he resumed talks of tariffs and trade concerns during his 2024 presidential bid.
Beijing has also come under increased scrutiny as the TikTok ban briefly went into effect Saturday night. Congress last year passed legislation that would ban the app’s U.S. operation by January 19 unless it divested from its Chinese-based owner ByteDance, citing national security concerns.
Congressional members argued that companies based in China must turn over data if requested by the ruling government, raising concerns about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would do with the user data of the 170 million Americans on the app. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban last week in a non-binding per curiam ruling.
However, Trump gave assurances to TikTok‘s CEO Shou Zi Chew that he would seek to reverse the ban, and the app resumed service on Sunday afternoon. The company has thanked Trump repeatedly and publicly, including a message upon opening the app that said it resumed service “as a result of President Trump’s efforts.”
What To Know
Earlier this month, Beijing announced that Ambassador Xie Feng, who traditionally attends such ceremonies, would not be able to attend, and instead China would send Han.
In a press release, the Trump-Vance transition team announced the meeting between Vance and Han, adding that the two “discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade, and regional stability.”
This marks the highest-profile solo meeting that Vance has fielded since winning last year’s election alongside Trump.
Trump has already threatened to hit China with tariffs as high as a 60 percent on all products produced in the country. However, Scott Bessent, Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary, has said tariffs mainly serve as a means of negotiation.
Fentanyl remains top of the agenda for many in Washington, and many have pointed to China as a major source for the drug due to its cheap labor. Further, critics accuse the Chinese government of not doing enough to deter the production and distribution of fentanyl.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. last year told Newsweek that the country had the “strongest determination, the most relentless policy and one of the best records in the world” on counternarcotics, including fighting the production of precursor chemicals.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), synthetic opioids like fentanyl account for 70 percent of overdose deaths in the U.S., and that number is rising.
In addition, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone call with Trump on Friday ahead of the president-elect’s inauguration where the two discussed many issues, including TikTok.
What People Are Saying
China Central Television (CCTV) said in a statement last week: “We are ready to strengthen dialogue and communication with the new U.S. government, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and jointly promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.”
It added: “China has always viewed and developed China-U.S. relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”
What Happens Next
Han will attend Monday’s ceremony, which has been moved inside the Capitol building due to concerns over extreme cold weather.
Trump also announced a proposal for TikTok, in which the U.S. government would hold 50 percent ownership of the company as a means of ensuring it does not suffer another ban.
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