Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a staunch critic of Chinahad been banned from entering the country since 2020. However, on Thursday he met with Chinese officials in Beijing, wearing a plaque showing a new Chinese spelling of “Rubio,” perhaps making his visit as part of President Donald Trump’s entourage possible. The change came ahead of Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese state media and official records began using a different transliteration of the “Ru” or “Lu” character in Rubio’s name after Trump named him secretary of state in 2025.
Beijing made the adjustment discreetly. However, this week it has been the topic of conversation on Chinese social networks, given that Rubio was in Beijing as one of the senior officials of the US delegation. During the elaborate welcome ceremony, he stood in the front row of the group of American visitors and shook Xi’s hand. Chinese transliteration of English names phonetically matches characters to English syllables. There may be several Chinese characters that sound similar to their English equivalent. For example, there are two different Chinese spellings for “Trump.” In Rubio’s case, the change could be a shrewd diplomatic strategy.
Since Beijing imposed sanctions on it with a different spelling, the new name allowed the United States and China to avoid a conflict over its entry before the crucial summit. “China is giving itself a way out of this uncomfortable situation,” said Zhang Jiadong, a former Chinese diplomat. “We cannot cancel the sanctions, because they were announced for a reason, but barring entry to a secretary of state could further damage bilateral relationsZhang added. “So we found a middle ground.” Beijing declared this year that the 2020 sanctions target Rubio’s “words and actions during his tenure as a U.S. senator,” drawing a distinction between his previous and current positions. (Rubio is also Trump’s national security adviser.)
Asked about the name change last year, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “The most important thing is his real name in English.” “As Secretary of State, Rubio plays an indispensable role in relations between China and the United States. Therefore, the old sanctions do not represent a big problem for Beijing,” said Zhao Minghao, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. It is unusual for Beijing to officially revoke or reverse a sanction, but some American academics who had been deemed undesirable were later allowed entry into China when relations improved or when the academic’s views became more neutral.
According to Zhao, Beijing now perceives Rubio’s message on China policy as more moderate, moving from its previous intransigent stance to a relatively open attitude to pragmatic cooperation. Rubio, a Cuban-American, has been a staunch critic of communism. He has long criticized Beijing’s actions against pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, its treatment of the Uighur ethnic minority in the Xinjiang region and other alleged human rights violations. In 2020, China twice imposed sanctions on then-Senator Rubio, along with other US officials and organizations, as bilateral relations deteriorated and both countries took reciprocal measures.
In response to US sanctions against Chinese officials, which included travel restrictions and asset freezes, China responded with counter-sanctions. During his confirmation hearing as Secretary of State, Rubio described China as the “most powerful and dangerous” nation that the United States has faced. But since taking office, Rubio has supported Trump’s efforts to stabilize relations with Xi, whom he calls a “great leader” and a friend. Trump has not been particularly forceful about China’s alleged human rights violations.
This week, Rubio took a more balanced tone, stating that China is “both our biggest policy challenge geopolitically and the most important relationship we need to manage.” In practice, the old sanctions do not apply to a “new, friendlier” Rubio, Zhao said. “When China issues you a valid visa and allows you entry, it literally means that you could no longer be subject to sanctions,” Zhao explained. However, this change could also reflect what China really thinks of Rubio.
The old character Ru/Lu (卢) was neuter and was normally used for surnames. The new one (鲁) has a different meaning: reckless, rude and clumsy.