Marco Rubio, currently the US Secretary of State in Donald Trump's administration, had been on Beijing's blacklist for years due to his statements against China and criticism of human rights violations.
While in the Senate, Rubio was sanctioned by the Chinese government, including being banned from entering Chinese territory. The sanctions came after his positions on the treatment of Uyghurs, developments in Hong Kong, and Chinese policies on civil liberties.
However, Beijing confirmed this week that Rubio will not be prevented from entering China if he travels with Trump and the US delegation on the US presidential plane.
"The sanctions target Rubio's statements and actions during his term as a US senator regarding China," said Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu.
According to diplomatic reports, China appears to have found an unusual way to get around the problem. Shortly before Rubio took office as Secretary of State in January 2025, Chinese state media and official institutions changed the way his name was spelled in Chinese, using a different character for the first syllable of his surname.
Two diplomats quoted in international reports said the name change is seen as a technical and diplomatic solution to avoid conflict with existing sanctions, as the entry ban remains registered only with the old version of Rubio's name.
