Diplomatic mysteries behind food: What do American dignitaries come to China to eat?

Beijing beer brewed with American beer flower highlights the trade relations between the two countries.Tibetan cuisine, conveys human rights information.The mushrooms that may have fantasy are simply because of the good taste.

Where to eat, what to eat, and how to eat when American dignitaries visit China.The choice of restaurants and dishes is full of geopolitical symbolic meaning, and it will also bring controversy and ridicule.Having or lacking the use of chopsticks may be a sign of or lacks cultural literacy.

A expensive meal will make an official look high.Too cheap or incompetent, it may appear to be lost.Whether or not authentic, historical background, cooking technology and taste will affect the outside world's views on dining.

As part of the efforts of the Biden government's stabilization relationship, US Secretary of State Anthony Brincken began to visit China on Wednesday. Some people in Chinese social media want to know if he has time to stop during the visit to try something: thisThe city's famous soup Xiaolongbao.

Some people have some political warning when they put forward this proposal: "To know that it is like a little -bao, it is like dealing with international relations," a netizen commented on Weibo."Don't pay attention to it, you will burn your mouth."

In fact, Brinken did go to a famous Xiaolongbao Pavilion that night.It is unclear to what extent he considered the symbolic meaning of Xiaolongbao, but no matter enjoying a traditional popular snacks or watching a basketball game, it shows that compared with last year's trip, this timeRelatively kind.Just before his trip last year, the Chinese spy balloon passed by the United States exacerbated tensions.

Daniel's dietary habits are far less concerned than Treasury Minister Jennte Yellen.In the two visits of this month and last year, her meals in China have attracted so much attention, so that the official media Global Times regards it as a "food diplomacy".

Last year, Yellen enjoyed mushrooms in a Yunnan cuisine restaurant in Beijing, and was widely reported.These mushrooms are slightly toxic and may cause hallucinations if improper cooking.

Yellen later said that she did not realize that these mushrooms had a potential fantasy effect when eating mushrooms and did not feel any strangeness.Nevertheless, this story has triggered a short mushroom boom in China.

This month, during the four -day trip to China, Yellen came to a famous Cantonese restaurant in Guangzhou and a Sichuan restaurant in Beijing.The dishes she ordered were quickly sent to the Internet.The variety of dishes is rich and the price is affordable. Her chopstick technology and her and the team sitting in the middle of other diners instead of sitting in the private room. These have been generally praised by netizens.

According to Fu Xia, a chef in London and a Chinese food writer, Yellen and her team ordered the local classic dishes and did not adjust according to foreign taste.

"They did not choose very expensive, showing off dishes and ingredients," Fu Xia said when talking about Sichuan cuisine."This is something that people in Sichuan like to eat very much. Choose this menu for taste, not this dish is famous."

According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, during the visit of Yellen, the department usually sought the suggestions of local embassy staff to recommend the restaurant.Yellen would then understand these restaurants and make the final decision.

The spokesman also said that sometimes you choose a specific place to convey diplomatic information.She mentioned that Yellen visited a beer factory in Beijing this month to emphasize the importance of US agricultural products to China.

Some restaurants that Yellen once used to use her reputation. For example, the Yunnan restaurant that she had enjoyed mushrooms launched a package based on the dishes she ordered, called the "God of Wealth" package, which means her financial minister.

Yellen is not the first American dignitaries to make Chinese restaurants popular overnight.According to Chinese official media reports, in 2011, after the then vice president Biden visited a noodle restaurant in Beijing, the business of the noodle restaurant burst out and prompted the restaurant to launch a noodle package called "Biden Package".

In 2014, after Michelle Obama went to a hot pot restaurant in Chengdu, the restaurant stated that it would create a "first lady in the United States" package.Chinese media articles pointed out appreciation that Mrs. Obama could eat the bottom of the spicy pot, and it was the one that did not reduce spicy to cater to the taste of foreigners.

However, her visit to a Tibetan restaurant in the same city caused controversy. Her staff member acknowledged that the location was to express her support for freedom.

But for Mrs. Obama's husband and other US presidents, the Chinese food provided at the official national banquet is often American or customized to better adapt to the taste of foreigners.

According to Chinese official media reports, in 2009, then US President Obama enjoyed Chinese steak and grilled fish; in 2017, President Trump enjoyed dishes such as Gongbao chicken and tomato beef.Both meals end with fruit ice cream, which is very different from traditional Chinese food.

But Fu Xia said that even these meals may imply an international trend.She said that Obama's menu contains "very secure and conservative choices, attractive to foreigners," while Trump's menu is slightly more modern, showing more Chinese cooking techniques.

Fuxia said that compared with 2009, this change in 2017 "may reflect that China is more confident in the familiarity of Western people in Chinese food."