• Source:JND
Add as a preferred
HighLights
  1. Marco Rubio arrived in Beijing despite Chinese sanctions.
  2. China changed Rubio's name transliteration for entry.
  3. China had imposed sanctions on Rubio in 2020.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Beijing with President Donald Trump for a high-level summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit comes despite Rubio being under Chinese sanctions and previously facing an entry ban, raising questions about how he was allowed to enter China.

Marco Rubio Arrives In Beijing With Trump

China had imposed sanctions on Rubio twice in 2020 when he was a US senator due to his strong criticism of Beijing on issues like human rights in Xinjiang and the situation in Hong Kong. Despite this, Chinese officials said that they will not block him from entering the country for the current visit. A Chinese embassy spokesperson, Liu Pengyu said the sanctions were related to Rubio’s past actions as a senator and not his current role as Secretary of State.

ALSO READ: Trump Reaches Beijing With Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; Vows To Push Xi To 'Open Up' China

How Did Rubio Enter China Despite Restrictions?

“The sanctions target Mr Rubio's words and deeds when he served as a US senator concerning China,” Pengyu said. To allow Rubio to enter the country, officials reportedly found a diplomatic workaround. They changed the Chinese transliteration of his name, allowing him to bypass the entry restriction. In Mandarin, his name is now written with a different character that makes it legally acceptable, even though the pronunciation remains the same. Rubio’s new Chinese name is Lu bi ao. Earlier, it was written as Lubi ao.

Trump's China Visit

In his first visit to China since 2017, Trump is accompanied by several top CEOs and business leaders including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. Other prominent names include Tim Cook, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzman, Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), Brian Sikes (Cargill), Jane Fraser (Citi), Larry Culp (GE Aerospace), David Solomon (Goldman Sachs), Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron), and Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm).

All of them are expected to raise business-related concerns and seek solutions for regulatory challenges in China, especially in sectors like artificial intelligence and technology exports. During the two-day summit (May 14-15), Trump and Xi are also expected to discuss sensitive geopolitical issues, including the ongoing Iran conflict, US sanctions, and tensions related to Taiwan.

You May Also Like To Watch:


Also In News