The Chinese president's envoy meets with Vance and Musk on the eve of Trump's inauguration

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, as Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, left, meets with U.S. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China’s vice president held meetings with the U.S. vice president-elect and U.S. business leaders, including Elon Musk, in Washington on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, as the two major powers tackle ongoing tensions over trade and technology.

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 stressed the “extensive common interests and enormous space of cooperation” the United States and China share in economic and trade relations despite “some disagreements and frictions,” according to a readout of his meeting with Vance issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and other measures against China in his second term, while also hinting at ways in which the two rival powers could cooperate on issues such as regional conflicts and curbing the export of substances used in the production of fentanyl.

In an unorthodox move, Trump last month invited Xi to his inauguration. No head of state has previously made an official visit to the U.S. for the inauguration, according to State Department historical records.

While Xi will not personally attend the event, he and Trump held a phone call on Friday during which they discussed trade, fentanyl and TikTok. The Chinese social media app restored service to users in the U.S. on Sunday, just hours after it went dark in response to a federal ban, which Trump said he would pause by executive order on Monday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday praised TikTok’s role in promoting employment in the U.S.

“We hope the U.S. will listen to rational voices and provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for market entities from all countries operating in the U.S.,” said ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

Han also met with Musk and other top U.S. business executives, including representatives of the U.S.-China Business Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese vice president reiterated promises for an improved business environment for foreign firms in China and expressed hopes that U.S. companies will continue expanding investment in the country.

Musk, whose company Tesla operates a factory in Shanghai, posted on his platform X after the meeting that he has long opposed the TikTok ban “because it goes against freedom of speech.”

“That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced,” he wrote. “Something needs to change.”

X is banned in China alongside other major U.S. social media and news apps and websites, including YouTube, Google, Facebook and many major U.S. media.

Associated Press video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report.