A senior Chinese representative will be sent by Xi Jinping to the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, the Financial Times reports, citing reliable sources.

China has informed Trump‘s team that a senior official will attend the ceremony instead of Xi, and that envoy will also have talks with the Republican president’s people.

Trump had sent an invitation to Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration on January 20, in a move that reveals his intention to continue the communication he had with the Chinese president during his first term in the White House.

The FT notes that Beijing is trying to reduce friction with Washington in preparation for a possible serious escalation on the trade front.

Several officials told the FT that Xi could send Vice President Han Zeng, who has sometimes stood in for him at ceremonies, to the inauguration. Another option is Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Meanwhile, according to one of the publication’s sources, some of Trump’s advisers would like to see Tsai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, who has far more authority than Han or Wang, as Xi’s right-hand man at the inauguration.

There is also concern that Trump might be unhappy if an envoy only at Wang or Han’s level arrives at the ceremony, given that he invited Xi.

The paper noted that the presence of any Chinese official at the event “would be unprecedented” given that China has been represented by an ambassador in Washington in the past.

“Trump probably considers Xi too unpredictable to take the risk of a personal appearance, suggests Dennis Wilder, a former top White House adviser on China.

According to Wilder, by sending a high-level special envoy to meet with Trump and his cabinet, Xi Jinping could demonstrate his desire to start relations with the new US president’s administration “the right way.”