Winning over China: Donald Trump's five-year-old granddaughter becomes 'friendship messenger' after video for her singing in Mandarin takes the country by storm
- Ivanka Trump attended a lunar new year party at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
- She went with her daughter Arabella as the guest of China's ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai
- Ivanka posted a new video of Arabella performing a song in Mandarin on Thursday to her Instagram page
- Some web users praised the Trump family for the idea while others said they wanted a greeting from the President Trump himself
A video clip of President Donald Trump's granddaughter singing in Mandarin to celebrate Lunar New Year has gone viral in China.
The clip posted by Trump's daughter Ivanka, after their visit to Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C., shows 5-year-old Arabella Kushner wishing a happy new year while playing with a traditional Chinese puppet.
The video has been viewed over 18 million times alone on Chinese social media website Wiebo since being uploaded to Ivanka's Instagram page on Thursday.
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A video clip of President Donald Trump's granddaughter singing in Mandarin to celebrate Lunar New Year have gone viral in China
Year of the Rooster: Ivanka Trump attended a party celebrating the lunar new year on Wednesday night at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC (Ivanka above with daughter Arabella)
Welcome: She attended the event with her daughter Arabella as the guest of China's ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai (Ivanka above shaking hands with her host after arriving at the event)
Viral: On Thursday morning, Ivanka posted a very public thank you to Ambassador Tankai in the form of a video that she uploaded to her Instagram which showed daughter Arabella performing
The video and Ivanka Trump's visit of the Embassy have received mixed reviews from Chinese web users with some praising the idea while others feel the president snubbed China by not sending his own greetings.
'Trump's daughter visits China's embassy and wishes China a happy New Year! The daughter understands more than the father,' one Weibo user commented.
Chen Zhijun a gold salesman said: 'A bridge of friendship is needed between China and the U.S.'
'I'm glad to see his daughter and little granddaughter being friendship messengers ... it is a sign of being nice,' Chen said.
However he added that Trump's apparent refusal to send a New Year Greeting is 'definitely is not helping' relations between the two nations.
Another Weibo user said: 'To be honest, I think that Trump really maybe just forgot. He's surrounded by anti-China people. There wouldn't be anyone to remind him,'
'Now it's already too late, and to wish happy New Year under pressure from the media would mean losing face, right? So he just lets his daughter make an appearance.'
A star is born: Arabella, 5, has become a minor celebrity in China ever since a November 2016 video of her reciting Tang Dynasty poems in Mandarin got over 100m views (on left Wednesday and on right at inauguration in her custom Oscar de la Renta coat)
Speaking at the event, Ambassador Tiankai spoke of her desire for 'win-win cooperation' between US and China instead of a 'zero-sum or cold war mentality'
Arabella also featured in a November video reciting Tang Dynasty poems in Mandarin while dressed in a traditional Chinese blouse. The clip has been viewed lose to 100 million times.
Ivanka Trump and her daughter visited the Embassy on Wednesday to attend a party celebrating the lunar new year.
Guests at the event surrounded the 35-year-old daughter of President Donald Trump as she entered the party accompanied by Arabella and their host for the evening, Ambassador Cui Tiankai.
Ivanka's evening with China's ambassador to the United States came just two months after her host had some less than kind words to say about President Trump following the news that he had spoken with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan after winning the election and violated the White House's 'One China' policy.
It capped off a busy day for the First Daughter, who accompanied her father to Dover Air Force Base in the afternoon to receive the body of a fallen SEAL Team 6 member and then headed back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Marine One to watch as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was sworn into office.
She then headed straight from the White House to the embassy event, at which her role seemed to be that of White House proxy, much like it was on Saturday when she and husband Jared Kushner attended the annual Alfalfa Dinner.
Ivanka and Arabella arrived towards the end of the Year of the Rooster festivities just as people were beginning to file out of the embassy, with Ambassador Tiankai meeting the two women at their car.
The First Daughter greeted Ambassador Tinkai with a smile and a handshake when he received her outside the event.
The three then walked into the embassy together, with Arabella clutching her mother's hand as the approximately 100 guests who were still at the party began to make their way towards the surprise attendees.
Ambassador Tankai took Ivanka and her daughter to look at some of the art and handicrafts on display and meet some of the other guests after the arrived at the party.
Making the rounds: Ivanka warmly greeted guests as she worked the room at the event
Arabella was dressed in head-to-toe red for the Year of the Rooster event, and wore the same custom Oscar de la Renta coat that she had on at the inauguration.
Ivanka warmly greeted everyone who approached her as she walked through the crowd with with Ambassador Tankai and spoke about her love of China, a country that is home to one of her closest friends, Wendi Deng.
Mother and daughter then had the honor of enjoying a musical performance at the event, which showcased some dancing and opera as well as acrobatics.
The pair later posed for some photos with the performers, who were dressed in traditional Chinese attire, while Arabella could be seen enjoying some of the Chinese food that was put out or guests.
Ivanka then dashed off with her daughter after making the rounds at the event, during which she never removed the $2,500 double-breasted velvet trimmed coat by Joseph Altuzurra that has been her go-to piece of outerwear the past few months.
Prior to Ivanka'a arrival at the event on Wednesday, Ambassador Tankai delivered a speech calling for cooperation between China and the United States moving forward, and his hopes for a more productive relationship between the two countries in the year to come.
'We have learned that we should always respond to difficulties and challenges by cooperation, instead of conflict or confrontation,' the foreign dignitary told the roughly 500 people who had gathered at the embassy for the celebration.
'We should work together for win-win cooperation, instead of being misguided by zero-sum or cold war mentality.'
Heading home: Ivanka dashed off with her daughter after making the rounds at the event, during which she never removed her $2,500 coat
Harsh words: Back in December, Ambassador Tiankai was critical of President Trump after he violated the 'One China' policy by speaking to President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan
That event was the first attended by Ivanka suggesting a role as White House proxy, with the president and first lady always choosing to attend the annual gathering.
The black-tie event also serves as a White House roast, and has been attended by every president since Ronald Reagan.
Melania was in New York City with 10-year-old son Barron however and President Trump opted out of attending, deciding to instead sent the First Daughter and her White House senior advisor husband in his place .
On Wednesday it was a different story however, with Ivanka filling in as her father's companion during his surprise visit to Dover Air Force Base.
Off they go: Earlier in the day on Wednesday Ivanka accompanied her father to receive a fallen SEAL Team 6 member killed in Yemen over the weekend as Dover Air Force Base (above boarding Marine One)
Home alone: Jared Kushner, Vice President Mike Pence and Reince Priebus watch as President Trump and Ivanka lift off in Marine One outside the White House on Wednesday (above)
More business: Ivanka then returned with her father and headed directly to the Oval office for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's swearing-in ceremony
The pair departed from the White House in Marine One and landed at the Delaware base to receive the body of Chief Special Warfare Officer William 'Ryan' Owens.
Delaware Senator Chris Coons also accompanied the two at the private return ceremony for Owens, which was attended by his family member including his wife and three young children.
Owens was killed in a pre-dawn raid, in which officials have said 'almost everything went wrong,' on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula last Sunday.
It was Trump's first clandestine strike, and it was not one that had previously been ordered by former President Barack Obama.
It was then back on Marine One and off to thew White House, were after landing President Trump and his daughter went directly to the Oval Office for Tillerson's swearing-in ceremony.
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