A new Chinese spelling of ‘Rubio’ sidesteps China’s travel ban
14th May 2026
The Washington Poop, paper of record for the Deep State.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a fierce China critic, was banned in 2020 from entering the country. On Thursday, however, he sat across from Chinese officials in Beijing — with a nameplate displaying a new Chinese spelling of “Rubio” that perhaps made his visit possible as part of President Donald Trump’s entourage.
The change predated Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese state media and official records began using a different transliterated character for the “Ru” or “Lu” in Rubio’s name after Trump named him secretary of state in 2025.
Beijing made the tweak without fanfare. But this week, it has been a buzzy topic on Chinese social media, with Rubio in Beijing as one of the top officials in the U.S. delegation. During the elaborate welcome ceremony, he stood in the first row of the group of American visitors and shook hands with Xi.
Chinese transliteration of English names matches characters phonetically to English syllables. There can be multiple Chinese characters that sound similar to the English equivalent. There are two different Chinese spellings for “Trump,” for example.
In Rubio’s case, the change may be a clever diplomatic tool. Because Beijing placed sanctions on him under a different spelling, the new name allowed the U.S. and China to avoid conflict over his entry ahead of the high-stakes summit.
Welcome to the Red Chinese version of Yes Minister.