dexinwin WASHINGTON — A familiar face drew attention during the White House welcome ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24: Arabella Kushner, the 15-year-old granddaughter of U.S. President Donald Trump and daughter of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Nearly a decade ago, Arabella became known in China after videos showed her singing Chinese songs and reciting classical Chinese poetry. Reports at the time said she had begun learning Mandarin from a Chinese nanny when she was just 16 to 18 months old.
From a Toddler Learning Mandarin to a Teenager at the White House
Arabella was born in July 2011. Her early exposure to Mandarin became widely known after her mother, Ivanka Trump, shared videos of her practicing Chinese.
By the age of five, Arabella was already able to sing Chinese songs and recite traditional Chinese texts. In April 2017, she and her younger brother Joseph performed in Mandarin for Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, during their visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The children sang the Chinese folk song “Jasmine Flower” and recited passages from theThree Character Classicand Chinese poetry.
Her Chinese Performance Became Widely Known
Arabella attracted even more attention during Trump's 2017 visit to China.
While in Beijing, Trump showed Xi a video of Arabella singing in Mandarin and reciting Chinese poetry. In the recording, she greeted Xi and Peng as “Grandpa Xi” and “Grandma Peng” and demonstrated her Chinese-language skills.
Contemporary reports said Xi praised her performance, while images and videos of the young girl speaking Mandarin quickly circulated on Chinese social media.
Her performances included Chinese songs, classical poetry and theThree Character Classic, making Arabella a recognizable figure in coverage of people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States.
Nearly a Decade Later, Arabella Returns to the Spotlight
On September 24, 2026, Arabella appeared alongside her mother at the White House welcome ceremony for Xi Jinping.
Now 15, she sat in a prominent position during the ceremony, alongside senior U.S. officials and Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance. Ivanka Trump also drew attention for wearing an outfit designed by Chinese couturier Guo Pei.
The appearance brought back memories of the little girl who had once stood in front of cameras singing Chinese songs and reciting Chinese poetry.
A Childhood Connection With Chinese Culture
Arabella's experience is notable primarily as a personal and family story rather than as a formal diplomatic initiative.
Her early Mandarin education gave her an unusual connection with Chinese language and culture for an American child. Her performances also became part of the public record of cultural interaction surrounding the Trump and Xi families.
In 2017, when Arabella was six,The Washington Postreported that Trump showed Xi a video of her Mandarin performance during his visit to Beijing. The newspaper noted that she had reportedly been learning Chinese from a young age.
From 18 Months Old to 15 Years Old
The story of Arabella's Mandarin learning spans almost her entire childhood.
At around 18 months old, she began learning Chinese. As a young child, she sang Chinese songs and recited classical texts. At five and six, she performed Mandarin for Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan. Nearly ten years later, at age 15, she appeared again at the White House during another Xi-Trump meeting.
Her presence does not itself indicate a change in U.S.-China policy. But as a personal story, it offers a distinctive example of how language and cultural learning can create connections that extend beyond formal diplomatic settings.
For many Chinese observers who remember the videos from 2017, the appearance of the now-grown Arabella at the White House was also a reminder of how quickly a child can grow — and how a childhood interest in another language can remain part of a person's public story for years.
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