The First Couple of Days in China

For those interested, I'm going to try and update the blog with my activities while in China. When I get home, we'll post some of the pictures, etc.

As some of you may know, I've been detailed to the Department of Treasury for two weeks so that I can work on the "U.S./ China Strategic Economic Dialogue." This summit, which includes 6 cabinet secretaries and the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, lasts two days and will involve a number of meetings to explore further economic relations with China. While here, we have six or seven media events, all of which I am responsible for. I'm lucky enough to have a staff who has done multiple international POTUS trips, as well as a extremely competent staff at Embassy Beijing. In addition to these events, I am responsible for briefing all cabinet members on how the trip will go, in regards to press and make sure their individual staffs are happy with the set up. That said, if they're not, it's pretty much too bad.

DAY ONE
Day one saw us arrive at 7 p.m., after a six hour delay from Chicago. This was the first time that I've ever flown business class internationally... I must say that it's pretty awesome. The food's great, the attendants are nicer and the seats are wicked awesome. We landed and were picked up at the gate by officials from Embassy Beijing -- he was from UT, oddly enough -- and whisked through passport control, etc. In the van, or "coasters" as they're called here, we were given a quick security briefing letting us know that rooms and vehicles are bugged with audio and video, and that we would most likely have Chinese Intelligence in the hotel monitoring all movements.
Even with all that, the hotel is amazing. We all have suites, which is really great. http://www.http://beijing.grand.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp. Have a look...

Because I slept so long on the plane, that I went to bed pretty late- about 1 a.m. I woke up and felt so fresh for the day. The room was still dark, so I assumed it was about 6. found my watch and it was 2 a.m. Needless to say, I woke up at 3, 4, 5, and rolled out of bed at 5:15.

DAY TWO...
Day two was really interesting. We met for a quick breakfast and then headed off to the Great Hall of the People (GHOP) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hall_of_the_People), which is the Chinese equivalent of the U.S. Capitol... except that it's HUGE. We went there to conduct a "walk through" where we walk through every event in every room and negotiate for this or that. My main job was to negotiate press availabilities and where we could or could not have them go. It seems that for the most part, the first answer is always no. We have to keep coming back to point after point to make sure they understand why we are asking for this or that. I felt that I was stonewalled at all my requests, but they always say that they'll look into it. It's very interesting in that we are the Sr. U.S. officials and have the ability to negotiate quite freely. But, the Chinese that we're dealing with aren't able to make any real decisions. They have to send everything up the flagpole, which takes forever.
A little on the GHOP. It is amazing. Every room is decorated immaculately. It's so funny because every room that we walk in, the Chinese ask, "Is this room OK?" Meanwhile, we're all standing with our jaws wide open saying, "Yup, this should do..." The great hall also has these huge rooms that are titled with all of the main provinces, including Tibet, Taiwan, and the Mongolia Room.

After we left the GHOP, we went to the Forbidden City (http://www.beijingtrip.com/attractions/forbidden/), which is where the Chinese Imperial Family lived in the 15th century. Think "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and you'll get the visual. One funny thing there is a conversation we had with the site officer/ museum director. In one of the ancient temples, there is a clock and watch exhibit. Apparently, the Royal Family collected these for quite a while. It came up in conversation that they had been collecting these for a LONG time. The director's answer was that it wasn't too long, only 3 centuries! I quickly replied that this was longer than the U.S. was in existence! Literally, there are clocks in the exhibit that are older than the U.S. !

From there, we had a luncheon with Embassy officials, the SED Advance Team and our Chinese counterparts. There are not words to discuss the difficulty I had at this meal. For a picky eater like me, chicken foot soup, shredded jelly fish, etc., is pretty tough to stomach. I was grateful when the BBQ chicken showed up... I quickly spun the lazy susan around, only to find a freakin chicken head staring at me. Unreal. Painful. The desert was fresh fruit. I eat lots of fresh fruit here.

Lastly, we went to the Beijing Hotel, where we'll be holding a banquet. Not much to that, but let me say that it is pretty surreal sitting in hotels in China, but having Christmas Trees and Christmas music playing...

Day THREE
I've been waking up pretty early and getting in good workouts. Evidentally, our hotel has the nicest workout facility in Beijing. I was there by 6:30, got in 10 miles on the bike, a 20-minute run, a swim, and spoke to Brenda on the cell in the hot tub. It was lovely.

Immediately following, we went to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and had a meeting to discuss the status of negotiations we've undertaken. Let me take a moment to say that our Chinese counterparts are incredibly nice, considerate people. I was so surprised to see how gracious our hosts are. One of the guys on my team tells me that because they watch me shower every morning...

My personal negotiations came out 50/50. I lost one, but the Chinese threw out a surprise consolation, which I think will be a worth while exchange. The rest of the day will see a private meeting with the Ambassador, who was in Skull and Bones with Pres. Bush at Princeton. Afterward, we're going out for a Texas BBQ, believe it or not...

Love to all (and the Chinese dudes reading this as I'm typing.) A