Chinese leader Xi Jinping may not have personally accepted US President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to his inauguration, but Beijing has taken the rare step of dispatching a top official to join the swearing-in ceremony in Washington.

BEIJING: Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with tech tycoon Elon Musk and urged US firms to "seize the opportunity" to deepen economic ties with China, Beijing's state media said on Monday (Jan 20).

Billionaires to have arrived at the Capitol Rotunda Monday morning include Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, billionaire Trump supporter Miriam Adelson, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and others.

Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng has held talks with the US vice-president-elect J.D. Vance and tech billionaire Elon Musk at separate meetings in Washington ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to a "long and fruitful" relationship.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent Vice President Han Zheng to the inauguration, an official whose seniority signals Beijing is ready to engage. After arriving in the U.S., Han wasted no time in doing just that.

Han Zheng, who serves as an envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the inauguration, “discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade, and regional stability” with J.D. Vance, according to the Trump transition team.

Han Zheng, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s envoy at Trump’s Inauguration, discussed fentanyl, trade, and technology with Vance and Musk.

US President-elect Donald Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the inauguration after winning last year's presidential election. Xi has sent Han in his place.

President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office at noon followed by a presidential parade, signing ceremony and inaugural balls.

Senior representatives of the world’s second and third largest economies are attending Monday’s presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, reflecting the importance China and Japan place on good relations with the world’s biggest economy.

Billionaires to have arrived at the Capitol Rotunda Monday morning include Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, billionaire Trump supporter Miriam Adelson, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and others.