Beijing seeking clues to decipher Trump's positions on key issues

Beijing

AS a crowd of Midwesterners drank, danced and snacked on deep-fried Twinkies at the Iowa inaugural ball in the capital last month, an aide to Terry Branstad ushered a small group of Chinese dignitaries upstairs to a private room.

When they saw the man President Donald Trump picked to become ambassador to China, members of the group whipped out their smartphones for photos. Another flurry erupted when Mr Branstad came downstairs, with about 30 Chinese guests jostling for access to the long-time state governor, according to three people with direct knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified.

The scrum showed the extent to which Chinese officials and businessmen were scrambling to get to know anyone with influence over the newly sworn-in president. The outlook appeared grim: Mr Trump had questioned the statu…