Chances are President Barack Obama won’t chat with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad before he opens a lengthy and high-profile series of meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California today, but it might not be a bad idea.
Branstad has perhaps as close and unique a relationship with the new Chinese leader as any politician in the United States — dating back decades and strengthened by several meetings in just the last two years.
Lucky for Obama, though, experts suggest the U.S. Department of State may have already downloaded Branstad’s interactions with Xi and his impressions of the leader of the world’s most populous nation.
Experts say those are standard protocols when U.S. dignitaries meet with foreign leaders.
“Absolutely, in circumstances like that, either the ambassador or a very senior embassy officer would want to hear the reactions from a governor or state official who is visiting,” said Kenneth M. Quinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia who now leads the World Food Prize in Des Moines. “And certainly if they’re meeting with the head of state of the country, they’d want to hear a lot.”
Xi assumed the presidency in November, but he and Branstad go back to 1985, when Branstad was serving his first term as governor and Xi visited as part of a sister-state exchange program.
The two have taken to calling one another “old friends” and renewed their relationship in September 2011 when Branstad visited China; again in February 2012 when Xi returned to Iowa; and yet again just two months ago when Branstad led another trade mission to China with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Branstad wasn’t available for comment Thursday, but a spokesman reiterated the connection the two leaders share.
“The Chinese recognize what a special relationship Gov. Branstad has with their leader, and in that area of the world, relationship-building is the most important currency when building trade opportunities,” Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said.
Typically, a delegation like the one led by Branstad, McDonnell and Walker might receive an initial briefing at the U.S. embassy, get logistical help in navigating their interactions with the Chinese government and be accompanied to high-level meetings by a State Department note-taker.
The carefully scripted official interactions between leaders are transcribed and scrutinized, but diplomats equally emphasize off-the-cuff remarks that come in more informal settings — during tea or as leaders are walking out the door, Quinn said. The data compiled along the way very well might find its way into a report cabled back to State Department headquarters.
“Everything is thought to be important,” he said.
Ronald K. McMullen, a former U.S. ambassador to Eritrea who’s now a visiting professor at the University of Iowa, added that federal officials may have looked to Branstad for insights on the dynamics of the new Chinese administration — what aides the president relied on for answers to questions, for example.
“Trying to figure out the dynamics of the new Chinese presidential team are perhaps as important or more important than the substantive content of the discussion with the governor from Iowa,” he said.
Branstad’s history with Xi may have made his visit even more interesting to the embassy officials watching from the sidelines.
“It’s a little bit uncommon to have a governor or a member of Congress with a close, personal relationship with the president of the host country,” McMullen said. “What happens typically may not have happened in Gov. Branstad’s visit given the personal connection between the two.”
That connection is authentic, Albrecht said.
“They like each other — it’s not just smile for the cameras, pomp and circumstance,” he said. “They get along really well, and the governor believes that President Xi is very personable.”
Albrecht referred questions on Branstad’s interactions with the State Department to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which organized the April trade mission to China. Authority spokeswoman Tina Hoffman confirmed that U.S. Embassy staff accompanied the governors to their meeting with Xi.
“It’s very typical for us to work with the local embassies and the State Department ahead of our visits to any country with any official,” she said. “Getting the federal counterparts involved is something that makes sense for us.”
Xi and Obama face many issues that divide the nations. But the scheduled six hours of meetings at the Sunnylands desert retreat in Rancho Mirage, Calif., will probably end up being more about building personal ties during meals and walks.
Though the United States has many items on its agenda, China has signaled no interest in satisfying them.
High on the U.S. agenda will be cybersecurity after several reports of state-sponsored Chinese cyberattacks against U.S. government, commercial and civil organizations. But Beijing denies responsibility and also claims it is the victim of such attacks.
Many analysts expect Xi to talk in broad terms about two of his major political concepts — the “China dream” and the need for a “new type of great power relationship” between the United States and China.
Branstad has perhaps as close and unique a relationship with the new Chinese leader as any politician in the United States — dating back decades and strengthened by several meetings in just the last two years.
Lucky for Obama, though, experts suggest the U.S. Department of State may have already downloaded Branstad’s interactions with Xi and his impressions of the leader of the world’s most populous nation.
Experts say those are standard protocols when U.S. dignitaries meet with foreign leaders.
“Absolutely, in circumstances like that, either the ambassador or a very senior embassy officer would want to hear the reactions from a governor or state official who is visiting,” said Kenneth M. Quinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia who now leads the World Food Prize in Des Moines. “And certainly if they’re meeting with the head of state of the country, they’d want to hear a lot.”
Xi assumed the presidency in November, but he and Branstad go back to 1985, when Branstad was serving his first term as governor and Xi visited as part of a sister-state exchange program.
The two have taken to calling one another “old friends” and renewed their relationship in September 2011 when Branstad visited China; again in February 2012 when Xi returned to Iowa; and yet again just two months ago when Branstad led another trade mission to China with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Branstad wasn’t available for comment Thursday, but a spokesman reiterated the connection the two leaders share.
“The Chinese recognize what a special relationship Gov. Branstad has with their leader, and in that area of the world, relationship-building is the most important currency when building trade opportunities,” Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said.
Typically, a delegation like the one led by Branstad, McDonnell and Walker might receive an initial briefing at the U.S. embassy, get logistical help in navigating their interactions with the Chinese government and be accompanied to high-level meetings by a State Department note-taker.
The carefully scripted official interactions between leaders are transcribed and scrutinized, but diplomats equally emphasize off-the-cuff remarks that come in more informal settings — during tea or as leaders are walking out the door, Quinn said. The data compiled along the way very well might find its way into a report cabled back to State Department headquarters.
“Everything is thought to be important,” he said.
Ronald K. McMullen, a former U.S. ambassador to Eritrea who’s now a visiting professor at the University of Iowa, added that federal officials may have looked to Branstad for insights on the dynamics of the new Chinese administration — what aides the president relied on for answers to questions, for example.
“Trying to figure out the dynamics of the new Chinese presidential team are perhaps as important or more important than the substantive content of the discussion with the governor from Iowa,” he said.
Branstad’s history with Xi may have made his visit even more interesting to the embassy officials watching from the sidelines.
“It’s a little bit uncommon to have a governor or a member of Congress with a close, personal relationship with the president of the host country,” McMullen said. “What happens typically may not have happened in Gov. Branstad’s visit given the personal connection between the two.”
That connection is authentic, Albrecht said.
“They like each other — it’s not just smile for the cameras, pomp and circumstance,” he said. “They get along really well, and the governor believes that President Xi is very personable.”
Albrecht referred questions on Branstad’s interactions with the State Department to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which organized the April trade mission to China. Authority spokeswoman Tina Hoffman confirmed that U.S. Embassy staff accompanied the governors to their meeting with Xi.
“It’s very typical for us to work with the local embassies and the State Department ahead of our visits to any country with any official,” she said. “Getting the federal counterparts involved is something that makes sense for us.”
Xi and Obama face many issues that divide the nations. But the scheduled six hours of meetings at the Sunnylands desert retreat in Rancho Mirage, Calif., will probably end up being more about building personal ties during meals and walks.
Though the United States has many items on its agenda, China has signaled no interest in satisfying them.
High on the U.S. agenda will be cybersecurity after several reports of state-sponsored Chinese cyberattacks against U.S. government, commercial and civil organizations. But Beijing denies responsibility and also claims it is the victim of such attacks.
Many analysts expect Xi to talk in broad terms about two of his major political concepts — the “China dream” and the need for a “new type of great power relationship” between the United States and China.
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