CBS News reported earlier this week that President-elect Donald Trump personally invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to be present when he takes his oath of office.

Yet in a move which may have left Trump's transition team blindsided, the Chinese leader rejected Trump's offer. 

Sources say China's ambassador to the U.S. will be president

According to CBS News, two sources have confirmed that Xi will not be in Washington on January 20. Instead, China's ambassador to the U.S. is expected to show up in his place.

The network stressed that both the Chinese embassy as well as the Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

"We have a good relationship with China. I have a good relationship," Trump said during an interview with CNBC on Thursday morning.

"We've been talking and discussing with President Xi some things," the president-elect added without addressing the inauguration invitation.

Meanwhile, CBS News cited a statement from incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explaining that while she was not certain as to Xi's plans, other world leaders are planning to be in attendance.

Chinese-backed hacking group went after corporate and government targets

CBS News noted that Xi's decision not to attend Trump's inauguration ceremony "comes at an already tense time in the U.S.-China relationship."

An example of that tension came in October when federal authorities investigated a cyberattack believed to have been launched by the Chinese-backed hacking group known as "Salt Typhoon."

The cyberattack targeted major corporations including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies along with systems used by U.S. government agencies to collect wiretap information.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and he spoke last month with CBS News host Margaret Brennan about the incident.

Rubio slammed "outrageous and dangerous breach"

"It is an egregious, outrageous and dangerous breach of our telecommunications systems across multiple companies," Rubio told Brennan.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says the Chinese hacking of U.S. telecom companies is a threat "maybe not directly to the election per se, but certainly to the national security of our country moving forward." He says he won't comment on… pic.twitter.com/isuRewt1qz

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) November 3, 2024

"I think as time goes on, we're going to learn more about it. Some of it will be made public. I think there's more that's still being gathered," the Florida lawmaker went on to add.