As someone who has covered US presidential inaugurations on and off since Bill Clinton’s first in 1993, the most jarring images for me thus far are not the presence of corporate executives and tech titans inside the Capitol Rotunda — moneyed interests are always part of inaugural festivities, albeit usually in less visible roles — but rather the foreign leaders who are there.
Trump-friendly politicians such as Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, and Giorgia Meloni, prime minister of Italy, are seated together near the back of the room, a clear signal of the international populist caucus which is growing worldwide and has been energised by Trump’s return.
But sitting near them is Han Zheng, China’s vice-president, whose presence sends a far more complicated message. Trump has sent very mixed signals when it comes to Beijing, continuing his anti-China rhetoric as part of his nativist, America First economic agenda, that would suggest a rekindling of the trade war he waged during his first term.
But much of what he’s done in the pre-inaugural period has softened that message, from inviting a Chinese representative to the inauguration to vowing to strike a deal to keep China-owned TikTok operating within the US. As usual with Trump on the foreign stage, he seems to be keeping everyone guessing as to how he plans to approach Beijing.