Secretary of State Marco Rubio was banned from entering China in 2020 after he criticized Beijing’s treatment of a minority population. But this week, he is in the country with President Donald Trump for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
How is that possible? It comes down to how his name has been lost in translation.
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China alters transliteration of Rubio
When Trump appointed Rubio his chief diplomat in 2025, Chinese state media and other official records began using a slightly altered transliteration of Rubio’s name.
Here’s how it works: When translating U.S. names to Chinese, English syllables match phonetically with Chinese symbols. Sometimes, there can be several Chinese characters that sound similar to the English equivalent, presenting multiple options for a translator.
So Chinese officials swapped one of the symbols for Rubio’s name, making it slightly different than the name under which the country imposed sanctions.
A diplomatic move
The move wasn’t made specifically for Rubio’s visit to China this week. Rather, officials say it was likely a diplomatic effort to prevent new conflicts between the U.S. and China.
“China is giving itself a way out of the awkward situation,” Zhang Jiadong, a former Chinese diplomat, told The Washington Post.
China did not cancel the sanctions, because officials there believe they are valid, he said, “but banning a secretary of state from entry could further damage bilateral ties.”
Rubio’s history with China
The sanctions came after a long-standing history of Rubio regularly criticizing Beijing, including calling out its actions against pro-democracy protesters, treatment of the Uyghur population and other alleged human rights abuses.
Finally, in 2020, China twice imposed sanctions on Rubio, then a senator from Florida, as well as other officials and organizations.
China and the U.S. went back and forth with penalties that year, with the U.S. issuing its own sanctions on Chinese officials, including travel restrictions and asset freezes.
Since Trump returned to office and Rubio became secretary of state, the administration, and Rubio specifically, have softened their tone toward China and its officials.
This week, Rubio called China “both our top political challenge geopolitically,” saying it’s “also the most important relationship for us to manage.”
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