Ivanka Trump, tiny 'translator' enjoy tour of Chinese embassy

The musical performance, acrobatics and show of paper cutting required no translation, for the most part, when US first daughter Ivanka Trump visited the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, for the first time.

But when she did need translation, Trump merely had to ask her 5-year-old daughter, Arabella Rose Kushner, who has been learning Mandarin and accompanied her to the Chinese Spring Festival celebration at the embassy on Wednesday night.

"She is my translator," a smiling Trump told Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai.

A video clip showing the 5-year-old reciting a simple, ancient Chinese poem in Mandarin two months ago has since gone viral on Chinese social media.

Trump's appearance at the Chinese New Year celebration prompted curiosity among Chinese social media users. Her father, US President Donald Trump, has broken a tradition of sending New Year's greetings to people of Chinese origin in the United States for their most important festival.

During the embassy tour, which included a look at Chinese New Year traditions and other folk art shows, she leaned down several times to talk with her daughter.

"It is amazing!" she said after a performance of traditional Chinese instrumental music and a group of dancers who juggled hats.

She came to the reception around an hour after it began. Earlier on Wednesday, she had traveled to Delaware with her father to honor the return of the remains of a US Navy SEAL killed in a weekend raid in Yemen, according to The Associated Press.

Ambassador Cui said at the reception, "Over these decades, we have learned that we should always respond to difficulties and challenges by cooperation, instead of conflict or confrontation."

The reception was sponsored by the Chinese embassy and the Meridian International Center.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com