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Published : 15 May 2026, 12:24 AM
China has used a diplomatic workaround to allow US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to enter the country despite sanctions previously imposed on him by Beijing.
Rubio accompanied US President Donald Trump during Trump’s first visit to China since returning to office.
According to Al Jazeera, Chinese authorities altered the transliteration of Rubio’s surname in official documents ahead of the visit.
“China has done that using a sleight of hand: His name is spelled different in official documents for this visit,” said Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher.
Instead of using the Chinese character previously linked to sanctions, officials adopted a different character with a similar pronunciation, referring to him as “Marco Lu”.
The move allowed Beijing to receive Rubio without formally lifting the sanctions, which remain in place and could still be enforced in other circumstances.
Chinese officials and state media reportedly began using the revised spelling shortly before Rubio assumed office in January 2025.
In March, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian indicated Beijing was open to easing restrictions if Rubio joined Trump on a visit to China, said Al Jazeera.
“China’s sanctions were aimed at Mr Rubio’s words and deeds concerning China during his tenure in the United States Senate,” Lin said at the time.
China imposed sanctions on Rubio in 2020 when he was serving as a senator from Florida.
Beijing accused him of interfering in its internal affairs after he criticised China’s policies in Hong Kong and its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang, the Al Jazeera report said.
Rubio, a long-time critic of the Chinese government, also backed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, a US law requiring companies to prove imports from Xinjiang were not produced using forced labour.
