Ivanka Trump and her daughter Arabella rang in the Chinese New Year at Beijing’s embassy in Washington on Wednesday night.
The businesswoman’s 5-year-old daughter accompanied her mother to meet with China’s ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai.
Photos and video of the mother-daughter duo went viral on Weibo after the hashtag #TrumpsDaughterVisitsChinasEmbassy in Chinese became the seventh most-searched term on Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
But Donald Trump shied away from celebrating the beginning of the Year of the Rooster, and Chinese netizens took notice.
“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.
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It has become a tradition for world leaders to offer well wishes on the most important holiday in China, with George W. Bush and Barack Obama issuing Chinese New Year greetings during their presidency.
Some social media users pointed out that the lack of well wishes for the holiday may not have been deliberate, and blamed his advisers.
“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,” another Weibo user wrote. “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.”
Footage from the Chinese Embassy event showed Ivanka and Arabella being presented with cutouts of a paper rooster and melted sugar works of art.
The mother and daughter then enjoyed a musical performance, accompanied by some dancing, opera and acrobatics.
In a speech prior to the Wednesday event, Ambassador Tiankai called for cooperation and a more productive relationship between China and the U.S. for 2017.
“We have learned that we should always respond to difficulties and challenges by cooperation, instead of conflict or confrontation,” said the foreign dignitary, according to Daily Mail. “We should work together for win-win cooperation, instead of being misguided by zero-sum or cold war mentality.”
On Thursday morning, Ivanka posted a video to her Instagram thanking Ambassador Tiankai and showing Arabella performing a traditional Chinese song she learned while playing with a paper dragon.
“Arabella singing a song she learned for #ChineseNewYear. Wishing everyone an amazing year to come during these days of celebration,” the caption read.
