Chinese ‘love’ Mandarinspeaking Arabella
BEIJING: While media coverage of Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping yesterday focused on trade and North Korea, it was the wide-eyed crooning of the US leader’s granddaughter that stole Chinese Netizens’ hearts.
In a video that Trump showed Xi during their stroll through the historic Forbidden City on Wednesday, his granddaughter, Arabella Kushner, greeted “Grandpa Xi and Grandma Peng (Liyuan)” with several Mandarin ballads and a recitation of ancient Chinese poetry.
China’s Xinhua news agency, which circulated the clip widely on social media, reported that Xi said the 6-year-old girl’s Mandarin skills deserved an “A+”.
The Chinese public agreed, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying.
“As a little ambassador of Chinese-American friendship, Arabella had already received the love of a vast number of Chinese people,” Hua said during a regular press briefing yestersday.
“This special arrangement is actually very sweet and warmhearted. We believe that this has helped to bring closer the affection and distance between the Chinese and American people.”
Arabella also played a starring role at the state dinner organised by Xi in Trump’s honour at the Great Hall of the People yesterday. The full video, which Trump brought as a gift for Xi, was played on screens in the room, earning her a mention in her grandfather’s toast.
“Our children so often remind us of our shared humanity and true dignity,” Trump, 71, said.
Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, was filled with praise for Arabella’s performance, though it was unclear how many comments related to Trump’s visit had been censored.
“She’s too cute!” users gushed. “Let’s hope that she marries into a Chinese family.”
Others made light of the fact that apparently no one could avoid the arduous task of memorising ancient Chinese poetry — not even the US president’s granddaughter.
Ivanka Trump, Arabella’s mother, had said that her children had a Chinese nanny who taught them Mandarin.
She frequently posted videos of Arabella speaking or singing in Chinese to her social media accounts, and she brought her daughter to a Lunar New Year event organised by the Chinese embassy in Washington. AFP