Xi is expected to rebuff the offer, as attending the event might put the Chinese president in a subservient position

Donald Trump has invited China’s hardline president, Xi Jinping, to his inauguration next month in an audacious diplomatic gambit that Beijing has reportedly indicated would be rebuffed.

The president-elect’s overture – which his staff said might also be extended to other leaders – broke with historic precedent, which holds that no foreign heads of state are expected to attend US presidential inauguration ceremonies.