Chinese officials are using a different transliterated character for the secretary of state's name, perhaps to allow him to visit without lifting a 2020 ban.

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.