President Donald Trump may have to take a hard line politically with Xi Jinping during the state visit – but he’s pulling out all the stops to charm the Chinese president.
Arabella Kushner, 15, the daughter of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, was prominently front and center as the Chinese leader arrived at the White House on Thursday for highly anticipated formal talks.
And the decision to thrust the impeccably-dressed teenager into Xi’s orbit was likely intentional. Arabella speaks fluent Mandarin.
Nearly a decade ago, during Trump’s 2017 visit to Beijing, he showed Xi a video of baby-faced Arabella, wearing a traditional Chinese-style silk dress, singing and reciting ancient Chinese poetry in Mandarin
The footage took the country by storm and Xi said she deserved an ‘A-plus’ for the performance.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Arabella was able to speak directly with Xi or China‘s first lady during today’s event.
Wearing a cream floor-length dress, the teen was spotted standing alongside Ivanka, Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha as the Chinese delegation arrived at the White House to huge pageantry.
Arabella then took a front row seat alongside political heavyweights including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as her grandfather and Xi took turns delivering remarks.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s daugher Arabella was in the spotlight for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit at the White House on Thursday. She is pictured alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
Wearing a cream floor-length dress, the teen was spotted standing alongside mom Ivanka Trump, Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha as the Chinese delegation first arrived
President Trump’s granddaughter began learning Mandarin when she was just 18 months old.
She and her younger brothers, Joseph and Theodore, studied with the family’s Chinese nanny and at school.
And she is no stranger to her grandfather using her skillful command of the Chinese language to his political advantage.
Ivanka, who was then a senior White House advisor during Trump’s first administration, started sharing clips on social media of her daughter singing in Xi’s native tongue when she was just five years old.
The videos quickly exploded online with some Chinese social media users affectionally dubbing the little girl the ‘friendship messenger.’
In early 2017, Arabella sang in front of Xi when visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Then, when Trump visited Beijing for a state dinner later that year, he came armed with a tablet so he could proudly show off a clip of Arabella affectionately addressing Xi and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, as ‘Grandpa Xi’ and ‘Grandma Peng.’
‘Hello, Grandpa Xi. Hello, Grandma Peng,’ she said while standing in front of the American flag.
When Trump visited Beijing for a state dinner in 2017, he showed off a video of Arabella affectionately addressing Xi and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, as ‘Grandpa Xi’ and ‘Grandma Peng’
The clip of Arabella was later broadcast on massive TV screens during the 2017 state dinner
Arabella went on to say in Mandarin: ‘Hello everyone, let me sing a song.’
She then launched into a traditional Chinese folk song about the country’s beautiful landscapes and lush natural sites.
At the time, Chinese media outlets reported that Xi said Arabella deserved an ‘A+’ for her performance.
The clip was later broadcast on massive TV screens during the state dinner.
It isn’t known if Arabella will make any further appearances during Xi’s current state visit.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump had hailed the ‘truly great friendship’ he has already forged with Xi.
Arabella took a front row seat alongside political heavyweights including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as her grandfather and Xi took turns delivering remarks
Arabella was a noticeable presence alongside her mom and top administration officials as the state visit got underway at the White House on Thursday
He called on China to work more closely with the US in order to avoid friction as the two biggest economies compete.
‘From the time of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people,’ Trump said.
Xi, for his part, was more direct in his public remarks, saying Chinese and American interests are ‘deeply intertwined’ and that the ‘competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds.’
‘It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses,’ Xi said.
