Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, in Washington, D.C. to attend President Trump’s inauguration as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special representative, met with then Vice President-elect J.D. Vance on Sunday, Jan. 19, as well as separate meetings with U.S. businessmen, including one with Elon Musk. The Trump transition team reported that Vance and Han had “discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade, and regional stability,” CBS reported. China’s Global Times filled out the picture, reporting that both officials had cited the Jan. 17 phone call between President-elect Trump and Xi Jinping as having set the framework for their discussions, and that both had spoken of the importance of their economic and trade relations, despite their differences. According to Global Times, Han told Vance “that China and the United States are both great countries, and that the Chinese and the Americans are both great people … [who] are working hard to achieve their respective development goals and dreams,” and Vance told Han “that the United States is willing to develop an enduring and fruitful relationship with China, strengthen dialogue and cooperation with China on international and regional issues, and jointly promote world peace and stability.”
Han also met on Jan. 19 with members of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), the nonpartisan nonprofit organization representing 270 American companies that do business in China. USCBC President Sean Stein said afterwards that the council was pleased to meet with Vice President Han to discuss U.S. business interests while he was in Washington for the inaugural “as we see both sides coming together in this important and symbolic way as a positive development.” He pointed to some ideas of U.S. business as to which policies on the Chinese side that they favor, but “we also urge both governments to work together on global issues of common interest,” he added. Representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also attended the meeting.
For its part, China has been sending a consistent message that it wishes to work with President Trump to improve U.S.-China relations, for the sake of world peace. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning emphasized again in her Jan. 20 morning press conference that “both countries stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, this is what the history of China-U.S. relations tells us. We always believe that a steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relationship serves the common interests of the two countries and is what the international community expects.” China’s semi-official daily likewise headlined its [editorial]( https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202501/1327193.shtml) today: “The World Is Looking Forward to `a Good Start’ for China-U.S. Ties.”