China tweaks Rubio’s name to bypass travel ban for Trump-Xi meeting
Diplomats said the spelling change let Beijing sidestep sanctions that included an entry ban on Rubio as he joined Trump for talks with Xi Jinping.
- On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Beijing with President Donald Trump for high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with a viral Air Force One photo capturing the delegation's arrival.
- China previously sanctioned Rubio in 2020 after he criticized Beijing regarding Xinjiang, Uyghurs, and Hong Kong while serving as a senator, measures that technically banned the Secretary from entering the country.
- To bypass the entry ban, Chinese officials reportedly used an alternate Mandarin transliteration for Rubio's surname; diplomats told Agence France-Presse this linguistic switch allowed Beijing to technically sidestep sanctions attached to the older spelling.
- Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Agence France-Presse that Beijing would not block the Secretary's travel, stating, "The sanctions target Mr. Rubio's words and deeds when he served as a US senator concerning China."
- Rubio told reporters last week that Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait are likely to come up during talks, noting both countries understand that destabilization in the Indo-Pacific would serve neither side's interests.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Secretary of State Marco Rubio- who accompanies US President Donald Trump on his official visit to China – confirmed Thursday that the Beijing authorities changed his name spelling in Chinese, a bureaucratic device to exempt him from sanctions imposed by China in 2020, without however having been revoked ...
Donald Trump is not the only member of the U.S. entourage that has been combative with China in the past: Marco Rubio also has his own coves to brag about. Today Secretary of State, then Senator for Florida, stood out for being one of Washington’s most belligerent pro-democracy voices. As such, he led legislative action against China in punishment for the end of political freedoms in Hong Kong and repression in re-education camps of the Uighur m…
Marco Rubio Enters China Despite Sanctions Targeting His 'Words And Deeds' After Beijing Tweaks His Name
China changed Rubio's name to enter country for Trump's meeting with Xi. Rubio was sanctioned for criticizing China, but ban was lifted. Importance Rank: 1
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