WASHINGTON — Chinese President Xi Jinping will send a high-level envoy in his place to US President-elect Donald Trump's Jan 20 inauguration, the Financial Times reported on Thursday (Jan 9).

Beijing has told Trump's transition team that the official would attend instead of Xi, whom Trump had invited to attend, the report said, citing several people familiar with the situation. It said the envoy would also hold talks with Trump's team.

Xi could send Han Zheng, a vice president who sometimes stands in for him in ceremonial roles, while another option was Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the FT reported, citing its sources.

The paper cited one person familiar with the situation as saying that some Trump advisers wanted Cai Qi, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee seen as wielding much more power than Han or Wang in his capacity as Xi's right-hand man.

China's Washington embassy and Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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