Beijing beer brewed with American hops, to highlight the trade relationship between the two countries. Tibetan food, to send a message about human rights. Mushrooms with possible hallucinogenic properties, just because they taste good.
Where, what and how US officials eat when they visit China is a serious matter. The choices of restaurants and dishes are full of opportunities for geopolitical symbolism, as well as controversy and banter. Chopstick skills—or the lack of them—can be a sign of cultural competence or illiteracy.
An overly expensive meal can make a formal look out of touch. Too cheap or informal and you risk looking indecent. Authenticity, history, cooking technique and taste can all influence the perception of a meal choice.
As Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken began a trip to China on Wednesday, part of the Biden administration’s efforts to stabilize relations between the two countries, some on Chinese social media wondered if he would have time on his visit to Shanghai to stop and try some of the city’s famous xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).
A recommendation to do so came with something of a political caveat: “Eating xiaolongbao is just like handling international relations,” one commenter he wrote on Weibo. “If your attention slips even a little, you’ll burn your mouth.”
Mr. Blinken visited a famous pasta restaurant that evening. It’s unclear how much he took into account the symbolism of his pasta, but by indulging in a traditionally popular snack and watching a basketball game, the visual showed a more heartfelt spirit than on his trip last year, a little after a Chinese spy balloon drifting over the United States had raised tensions.
While in Beijing, Mr. Blinken visited a notable outlet, in addition to the city’s restaurants: Li-Pi Records. Mr. Blinken – a musician who has touted “musical diplomacy” – bought two records: an album by Chinese rocker Dou Wei and Taylor Swift’s “Midnights,” which he described as a successful American export.
Mr. Blinken’s eating habits have attracted far less interest than Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s. On two trips, this month and last year, her meals in China attracted so much attention that the state-run Global Times considered it is a form of ‘food diplomacy’.
Last year, Ms. Yellen made headlines when, at a restaurant in Beijing serving cuisine from Yunnan province, he ate mushrooms that turned out to be mildly toxic and could cause hallucinations if not cooked properly.
Ms. Yellen later said she was unaware of the mushrooms’ potential hallucinogenic properties when she ate them and felt no abnormal effects. However, the story sparked a brief mushroom craze in China.
This month, during a four-day trip to China, Ms. Yellen visited a famous Cantonese restaurant in Guangzhou and a Sichuan restaurant in Beijing. The dishes she ordered were quickly posted online, with commenters widely applauding the variety and affordability of the dishes she ordered, her chopstick skills, and the fact that she and her team were seated among other diners rather than in private room.
The dishes Ms. Yellen and her team ordered were classic meals from their respective regions and not modified to foreign tastes, according to Fuchsia Dunlop, a London-based cook and food writer who specializes in Chinese cuisine.
“They haven’t chosen very expensive, ostentatious dishes and ingredients,” Ms. Dunlop said of the Szechuan meal. “This is what everyday people in Sichuan really like to eat. This menu was chosen for taste, not prestige.”
According to a Treasury Department spokesman, the department generally solicits suggestions from local embassy staff for restaurant recommendations when Ms. Yellen travels. Ms. Yellen will then research the restaurants herself and make the final decision.
In some cases, specific facilities will be chosen to convey a diplomatic message, the spokeswoman added. He cited Ms. Yellen’s visit this month to a brewery in Beijing that uses American hops, aimed at highlighting the importance of American agricultural exports to China.
Some restaurants where Ms. Yellen has dined have capitalized on her reputation, such as the Yunnan restaurant where she ate the mushrooms, which released a set menu based on what she ordered, called “God of moneymenu, a nod to her position as Finance Minister.
Ms Yellen is not the first US official to turn Chinese restaurants into an overnight sensation. In 2011, a visit by then-Vice President Joe Biden to a Beijing noodle restaurant skyrocketed his business. according Chinese state media and led the restaurant to create a “Seth Biden” noodle menu.
In 2014, after Michelle Obama visited a hot pot restaurant in the city of Chengdu, the restaurant said it would create a “First Lady of America” set menu. Articles in Chinese media he noted approvingly that Mrs. Obama was able to handle the spicy soup, which was not mild to a foreign palate.
However, her visit to a Tibetan restaurant in the same city sparked controversy, and its staff at the time readily acknowledged that the venue had been deliberately chosen to show support for the rights and religious freedoms of Tibetans in China.
But for Mrs. Obama’s husband and other US presidents, the Chinese cuisine served at official state banquets is often Americanized or adapted to better suit a foreign palette.
In 2009, President Barack Obama served a Chinese-style beef steak and grilled fish, according to Chinese state media, and in 2017, President Trump ate dishes including kung pao chicken and boiled boneless beef in tomato sauce. Both meals were topped off with fruit ice cream, which is very unusual for traditional Chinese meals.
But even these meals may hint at an international trend, Ms Dunlop said. Mr. Obama’s menu featured “very safe, conservative choices that would appeal to foreigners,” he said, while Mr. Trump’s menu was slightly more contemporary and featured more Chinese cooking techniques.
That change, Ms. Dunlop said, “perhaps reflects China feeling a little more confident about familiarizing Westerners with real Chinese food” in 2017 compared to 2009.
Anna Swanson contributed to the report.