I found this question and answer from CNBC's Kayla Tausche to U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai interesting:
Tausche: In the direct talks that took place during the prior administration, the only women that were at the table were the translators. Do you fear that because of Chinese cultural norms that you won't be taken seriously as a woman leading the negotiations for the administration?
Tai: So much to unpack there Kayla. You know what, I look forward to these conversations. And I would say with respect to Chinese cultural norms, you don't have a Chinese mother. I would say that I don't fear Chinese cultural norms. In fact, I'm really looking forward to these engagements because they are so important to how successful the United States will be in the coming years.
As Tai said, there is a lot to unpack here. As the question started, I was thinking that the focus was going to be on the lack of women on the American side of the table last time. But then it turned out that the focus was on the Chinese side.
In terms of Chinese cultural norms here, I have no idea, so I asked Julia Qin for her thoughts. Here's what she said:
As for the “Chinese cultural norms”, I expect the Chinese negotiators (esp. if MOFCOM is involved) will be smart enough to take her very seriously. Some of the MOFCOM folks met her during WTO litigation. The fact that she speaks Chinese and understands Chinese mentality is all the more reason for the China side to take her seriously. As for being a woman, recall that Charlene Barshefsky was the one that negotiated China’s WTO accession. And the two former Chinese AB members are both women.
I feel like some other people out there who know more about all this than I do might want to weigh in as well, either on the general topic, the question, or the response, so have at it in the comments if you so desire.
