As I write this on Tuesday evening, Donald Trump just boarded a plane a few hours ago to head to China, where he will meet with President Xi Jinping. He's taking quite an envoy with him, which includes several high-profile CEOs and business leaders, like Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook.
He's also taking various members of cabinet, including, Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio, and, reportedly Jamieson Greer and Scott Bessent will join them. It's the first state visit by a U.S. president in almost a decade — the last was when Trump visited in 2017.
WHEELS UP FOR CHINA! 🛫 https://t.co/4Fryq64SRF pic.twitter.com/Mtwu1VPQNY
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 12, 2026
.@POTUS departs for China, where he'll make the first state visit by a U.S. President since his last visit in 2017 🛫 pic.twitter.com/qAJaTsKL8r
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 12, 2026
If you've followed Rubio's career at all, you know that he and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aren't exactly the best of friends. As a senator, he was extremely outspoken about the country's presence in the United States and throughout the Western Hemisphere, its human rights violations, its crackdown on Hong Kong, its Uyghur genocide, and its threats against Taiwan. He also sponsored several pieces of legislation against China throughout his career in the Senate.
None of that changed when Trump chose him as secretary of State. Though, he's toned it down a bit, he continues to call China an adversary and major threat to the U.S.
Rubio, of course, is the son of Cuban immigrations, so he knows all too well how awful communism is and has fought against it for most of his career. Because of this, China sanctioned him twice in 2020, making him their U.S. public enemy number one. Part of the sanctioning included banning travel to China in any form and freezing any assets he may hold there.
So, how exactly is he able to travel to Beijing with the president? It's incredibly silly, and it makes the CCP look like idiots, but here's the deal on what's being called a "diplomatic workaround."
In January 2025, shortly before Rubio was confirmed as secretary of State, the CCP changed his Chinese name by swapping out a single character. The old version of his Chinese name was 卢比奥 (Lú Bǐ Ào). Chinese state media and Foreign Ministry transcripts now use 鲁比奥 (Lǔ Bǐ Ào) instead. What makes it even funnier is that the new sound can supposedly imply something is rough, blunt, or rustic (I'm taking that from internet chatter — I do not know any of the language).
Shortly after the name change, the New York Times asked Chinese spokeswoman Mao Ning about it, and she glossed over it, responding, "I haven't noticed that yet, but I can look into it. I think his English name is more important."
It may seem minor, but this is actually kind of embarrassing for the CCP. They're saving face — or think they are — by pretending this guy who is traveling with President Trump as secretary of State isn't the same one they sanctioned six years ago. They'd rather change his name than do away with the sanctions. It's also proof of just how much Trump and the United States are now respected on and dominating the world stage.
Update, 8:30 p.m. EST:
🚨 LMFAO! Sec. Marco Rubio was just spotted wearing the Nicolas Maduro "Nike Tech" aboard Air Force One, en route to China with President Trump
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 12, 2026
Just like Maduro wore when 47 captured him 🔥
We love Marco 😂😂
📸 @StevenCheung47 pic.twitter.com/Aw57sbZVNg
