China Lets Sanctioned Rubio Visit After Name Change

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is travelling to China with President Donald Trump despite being under Chinese sanctions, the Guardian reported.

The visit appears to have been made possible by a linguistic workaround after Beijing changed the Chinese transliteration of Rubio’s surname. Shortly before he became secretary of state in January 2025, the Chinese government and official media began using a different Chinese character for the first syllable of his name.

Rubio, who is travelling to China for the first time, was sanctioned twice by Beijing while serving as a US senator. He had strongly criticized China over human rights abuses, including the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and the crackdown on Hong Kong.

Two diplomats told AFP they believed China had made the change because Rubio was under sanctions, which included an entry ban, under the old spelling of his name.

China has said it would not block Rubio over his past actions. “The sanctions target Mr Rubio’s words and deeds when he served as a US senator concerning China”, Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.

Trump is due to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit and talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trade, Taiwan and artificial intelligence are expected to be among the main topics.

(guardian, bak)