President Trump’s granddaughter, 6-year-old Arabella Kushner, has won the hearts of the Chinese without stepping foot on the continent.
The president, who’s been in the People’s Republic as part of his 12-day Asia tour, proudly showed Chinese President Xi Jinping a video of Arabella singing and reciting poems in perfect Mandarin during tea on Wednesday.
Impressed, Xi said Arabella is a “child star in China” who deserved “an A-plus” for her singing and reciting talents.
President #XiJinping speaks highly of #Arabella's Chinese language skills and says her performance deserves an "A+." Xi says Arabella is already a child star in China and hopes she would visit China one day @IvankaTrump pic.twitter.com/Mpnj9PjafG
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) November 8, 2017
Exclusive: #DonaldTrump's granddaughter #Arabella singing in mandarin, reciting part of Three-Character Classic and ancient Chinese poems pic.twitter.com/KwOyVeK6ZW
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) November 8, 2017
Guests were treated to a video of Arabella singing the traditional Chinese song on a big screen during a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday.
The video has reportedly become a hit on the Chinese Internet, as was another video of Arabella singing in Mandarin back in 2016.
She was able to perform for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, in person when they visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate back in April.
According to Newsweek, Arabella has been taking lessons from the private Carousel of Languages school in Manhattan since she was 3 years old.
Joseph Kushner, the president’s 3-year-old grandson, also takes lessons, and even 1-year-old Theodore Kushner has been spotted playing with building blocks decorated with Chinese characters.
The Washington Post reported that she has been learning to speak Mandarin from her Chinese nanny since she was an infant.
Whichever is the case, her Chinese is said to be very good, and she has thoroughly charmed the Chinese people.
In a widely shared post, one citizen called her an “adorable girl” whose Chinese is great.
“This little girl is so smart, hope in the future that she can make a bigger contribution between friendly exchanges China and the United States,” someone else wrote.
China’s Foreign Ministry sang her praises during a regular news conference on Thursday.
“Arabella as a small messenger of Sino-American friendship is deeply loved by the Chinese people,” said spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “I believe it will also help to narrow the feelings and distance between the peoples of China and the United States.”
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