Chinese wine merchant invited to Trump’s inauguration

The US president-elect, Donald Trump, may be having a hard time finding A-listers to perform at his inauguration ceremony, a Chinese wine and spirits merchant, however, giddily jumped at the chance to attend his inauguration, calling it “a special day for the alcohol industry in China and the U.S.”

Xie Xiaosu (Photo credit: China Economic Times)

The merchant, Xie Xiaosu, is the chairman of ‘US North Alcohol Company’ (known as 美国北方酒业公司 in Chinese) and a Sino-US alcohol association in the US.

An article posted by Xie’s association says, the merchant met with Trump once in 2014 at a tasting, “and conversed as one businessman to another”. But, “unexpectedly, two years later, Trump has become US president,” it wrote.

According to a report by the China Economic Times, Xie’s company exports Chinese produced alcoholic beverages to the US, Europe and Africa. But scanty records have been found about Xie’s company or Xie himself. China’s biggest liquor maker Maotai earlier this year was in talks with the company to expand its market in the US and bring the Chinese rice liquor to American bars and restaurants.

“The inauguration comes at a time when the new US government is at a turn of introducing new economic policies, and China is restructuring and reforming its economy as well. We believe the president-elect will bring a breath of fresh air to the world economy based on his years of business experiences and understanding,” Xie told the China Economic Times when interviewed.

A few celebrities have declined Trump’s invite to perform at his inauguration on 20 January, including Elton John and Andrea Bocelli. The only confirmed performance is by America’s Talent winner, 16-year-old Jackie Evancho, who has already faced a backlash from fans.