The ‘Lu’ loophole: China circumvents its own sanctions to allow visit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

WASHINGTON, May 13 — Marco Rubio travelled to Beijing on Tuesday alongside President Donald Trump despite being under Chinese sanctions, in what appears to be a diplomatic breakthrough enabled by a change in name transliteration by China.

Rubio, 54, a former US senator making his first visit to China, has long been a vocal critic of Beijing on human rights issues. In response to his earlier positions, China had imposed sanctions on him twice, including an entry ban, using an earlier Chinese transliteration of his name.

However, following his appointment as US Secretary of State by Trump, Chinese authorities and state media began using a different Chinese character for the syllable “Lu” in his surname shortly before he assumed office in January 2025.

Diplomatic sources said the adjustment is believed to have been a workaround to the existing sanctions linked to the previous spelling of his name, although the Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A State Department official confirmed only that Rubio was travelling with Trump and noted that he was seen boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base.

Rubio, who has Cuban-American roots and is a strong critic of communism, previously played a leading role in legislation imposing sanctions on China over alleged forced labour involving the Uyghur minority and has also criticised Beijing’s policies in Hong Kong.

During his confirmation hearing, he described China as an unprecedented strategic challenge. However, since taking office, he has supported Trump’s approach of prioritising trade relations while placing less emphasis on human rights concerns.

Last year, Rubio also expressed support for Taiwan, stating that the administration would not use its status as leverage in trade negotiations with China. — AFP