Donald Trump has invited China’s hardliner President Xi Jinping to his inauguration next month. It’s a bold diplomatic move that Beijing has reportedly indicated would be rebuffed.

The president-elect’s rapprochement offensive – which his aides say could be extended to other world leaders – broke with historical precedent that no foreign head of state would be expected to attend U.S. presidential inauguration ceremonies.

It was also a bold statement of the unorthodox foreign policy approach Trump plans to take, as China has become America’s main global adversary and the new president has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 60% if the country does not respond The importation of fentanyl and other drugs into the USA.

Trump announced his initiative in an interview after his symbolic opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, acknowledging that it posed a risk.

“Some people said, ‘Wow, that’s a little risky, isn’t it?'” Trump said. “And I said, ‘Maybe this is it. We’ll see. “We’ll see what happens.” But we like to take small risks.”

Speaking to CNBC, he added: “We will have a lot of discussions with China. We have a good relationship with China. I have a surprising relationship.

“Now when Covid came, I kind of cut it off. That was a step too far. That was, as they say, a bridge too far. But we have spoken and discussed with President Xi, some things and other world leaders, and I think overall we will do very well.

“From an economic point of view, we have been severely mistreated…We will no longer be mistreated.”

Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s new White House press secretary, told Fox News that the invitation was “an example of President Trump building an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not only our allies, but also our adversaries and competitors “.

During his first presidency, Trump hosted Xi at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and often expressed admiration for his intelligence and autocratic approach despite contentious U.S.-China relations.

Still, inviting Xi to witness his inaugural speech was “shockingly cavalier from the standpoint of American values,” Edward Frantz, a presidential historian at the University of Indianapolis, told the Associated Press.

Sources in Beijing said Xi would decline the invitation and that China’s communist regime would likely be represented at the ceremony by the country’s ambassador to Washington, CBS reported.

Participation would potentially put Xi in a subservient position to Trump, as he would be forced to passively listen to the new US leader say what he wanted in the full glare of the global media spotlight, while simultaneously being unable to respond to respond, analysts said.

It would also make him a witness to a peaceful transfer of power in a democratic environment that does not exist in China’s system of one-party rule.

“China would be concerned about the risk of possible hostile actions by the Trump administration following Xi’s visit, which would threaten Xi’s authority and credibility,” Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, told the Wall Street Journal.

But some analysts say even a rebuffed invitation could potentially push Trump to prominence, with the initiative likely serving as an indicator of his future foreign policy.

“This is a reminder of Trump’s penchant for foreign policy through grand gestures and his willingness to flout diplomatic rules with his unpredictable actions,” CNN noted.

“The Xi invitation also shows that Trump believes that the strength of his personality alone can be a decisive factor for diplomatic breakthroughs.”

There was no immediate confirmation about which other foreign leaders might be invited, although there is speculation that an invitation could be extended to Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s far-right prime minister, whom Trump repeatedly praised during the campaign and who visited him in March -a-Lago. There was also speculation about the possible presence of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.