President Trump has, at times, been critical of China, but there are indications his daughter Ivanka could play a positive role in those relations.
President Trump has, at times, been critical of China, but there are indications his daughter Ivanka could play a positive role in those relations.
In fact, the International Business Times is speculating that with her new job in the White House, “she might soon become a major influence on bilateral ties between the two countries.”
This possibility was echoed by the South China Morning Post in a piece which says, “The former model has been on a charm offensive with China, using her children to help woo the Chinese public.”
For example, Ivanka commemorated her son’s first birthday by posting a photo of them eating noodles which, in Chinese culture, symbolizes long life.
A few weeks ago, she released a video of her five-year-old daughter singing a new year’s song in Chinese while playing with a native puppet.
That video, along with another one from last year where the little girl recites a poem in the Asian language, was reportedly very popular in China, notes The Independent.
As Liu Weidong, a fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of American Studies, told the South China Morning Post, “Ivanka Trump has quite a positive image among Chinese. She caters to the emotional needs that the Chinese people have due to the uncertainties of the Sino-US diplomatic relationship.”
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that her husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, seems to be a favorite among Chinese officials as a way to gain access to the president who, the article says, they find to be “bewildering.”
Trump is scheduled to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in Florida on Thursday.