Trump invites foreign leaders, including Xi of China, to his inauguration

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other foreign leaders have been invited to attend U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington next month, a Trump transition official announced Thursday.

Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview that it was “to be determined” if Xi had reacted. The other international leaders were also invited, but she did not mention them.

“This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too,” she stated. “He is willing to talk to anyone and he will always put America’s interests first.”

Separately on Thursday, the Kremlin stated that it had not been invited to the inauguration on January 20.

CBS News initially reported the invitation on Wednesday, stating that Xi was invited to Trump’s swearing-in in early November, just after the presidential election on November 5.

Reuters reached out to the Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday, but received no response.