TAIPEI, Taiwan — Vice President Han Zheng, China’s representative at Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, is a trusted adviser to President Xi Jinping, a long-time survivor of Chinese politics who rose from toiling on a collective farm and in factories to becoming one of the most powerful people in the country.
China’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 U.S., while not leaving Xi exposed to criticism should ties worsen.
Many of the most divisive bilateral issues involve trade, with Trump on imports from China, but relations have also frayed over technology and China’s moves to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Like many young Chinese, Han was sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution to “learn from the peasants” on orders from then-leader Mao Zedong. Many on their return to the cities found jobs in state-run industries.
Han, 70, rose up the ranks in the financial center of Shanghai 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 had briefly held the position after the scandal, giving Han access to him before him became China’s new leader.
In 2017, Han reached the apex of Chinese political power, the party’s seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, and after serving one five-year term was given the position of vice president, a position Xi has imbued with new weight as adviser and envoy.
Throughout his career, Han has shown a flair for low-key diplomacy, helping to deal with unrest in Hong Kong and attending numerous international events such as the United Nations General Assembly.
On Sunday, Han met with U.S. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and U.S. business leaders, including Elon Musk, in Washington on the eve of the inauguration.
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