President Trump visited China for three days on his nearly two week Asia trip. Aside from complaining about trade deficits with each country he visited, and applauding China's ability to beat the United States economically, nothing too dramatic so far. China rolled out the red carpet, literally and figuratively, with a 'state visit plus', hosting the Trumps with tea in the Forbidden City palace museum. So far, so good. He and President Xi seem to have a good personal rapport; Trump seems fascinated with strong authoritarian leaders. The Chinese public appears very enamored with the 'goddess' Ivanka Trump and her children's knowledge of the Chinese language and Arabella's ability to sing in Chinese, even for Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan back at Mar-a-Lago in April. Since Trump is not so interested in China's domestic social issues, he is avoiding any sensitive comments about political affairs inside the country. Criticizing trade or business practices is not sensitive. Though the Trump team calling the region the 'Indo-Pacific' is a significant change from past practices of calling the region the Asia Pacific, since US security ties to India are ramping up quickly and continues the Obama era balancing posture toward China's rise. Here is my discussion with Ambassador Su Ge, now with the Foreign Ministry's primary think tank the China Institute of International Studies (
http://streambj.cgtn.com/olive/index.html?url=http://vod.cgtn.com/data/d1/programHistory/cctv-news/201711081930.m3u8&from=singlemessage). [link works on my phone in China, may not work on other devices or locales]. And an interview with regional tv in Shenzhen on China's development goals coming from the 19th Party Congress.
Otherwise, lots of professional opportunities here, writing for news magazines, media appearances, and guest lectures. Monday, the US Embassy is sponsoring me to talk about what life is like for American university students and professors at a local public high school in Haidian district and at a university (China Agricultural University). I enjoy sharing what American schools are like in China and what Chinese schools are like back in the States.
