A video of US president-elect Donald Trump’s granddaughter Arabella Kushner reciting ancient Chinese poetry has gone viral across China.
Posted by her mother Ivanka on social media a few months ago the video has only caught the attention of the Chinese blogosphere now, sparking rumours that Trump is trying to soften his image after a bruising election campaign.
Trump’s controversial remarks accusing China of currency manipulation, taking US jobs and economically “raping the USA” during the election campaign divided opinion in China.
But much of the social media commentary on Trump's granddaughter’s video has been praise of the soon-to-be first family.
The viral video shows then four-year-old Arabella singing a Tang dynasty poem ‘Sympathy for the Peasant’, dressed in customary Chinese New Year colours and standing in front of traditional decorations.
In Beijing’s central Chaoyangmen area, those asked thought Arabella’s singing was “very cute”. Many were impressed not only by her language skills, but also her observation of the new year customs.
“She knows a lot about Chinese culture, she must be very interested in it!” said one passerby.
When asked whether the video changed their opinion of Trump, one woman said: “Surely it shows that Trump doesn’t hate China after all?”
Andy Mok, a Beijing-based US-Sino relations commentator noted that part of the video's popularity sprung from Trump’s own personal appeal.
“Trump is a natural for China in several ways. He’s rich, he’s a celebrity, he’s got a larger than life personality. Chinese people find that irresistible.”
But not all netizens were convinced. One Weibo (China’s Twitter) user commented: “Trump must have asked his granddaughter to learn Chinese to know what we're saying behind his back!”
US President-elect Donald Trump with daughter Ivanka and grand-daughter Arabella after casting their ballots. Source: AP
Another said: "He must be desperate to boost his reputation!”
The video of Arabella isn’t the only Trump-related story causing a sensation in China this week.
His hair has also become a hot topic of discussion thanks to its resemblance of a.
Since going viral, the golden pheasant called ‘Little Red’ has had an increase in visitors keen to see its famous plumage up close.
