http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/index/ en U.S. Department of State 2009-11-20T23:01:01+00:00 About the Author: Ben Moeling serves as the Deputy Political Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China and Overall Control Officer for Secretary Clinton's Visit.

Secretary Clinton arrived in Beijing on a cold February night after a full day in Korea. Two senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were on hand to greet her officially, but hundreds of millions of Chinese people were also eagerly tuned in. The Secretary, or "Xi-la-li" as everyone in China refers to her with a tone both of familiarity and respect, is famous in China. Speculation about her visit has been intense. Almost every Embassy officer, from vice consuls to the Charge d'Affaires, has received inquiries about her upcoming visit. Our Political, Economic, and Environment, Science, Technology and Health sections have been working for weeks with our Chinese counterparts on the arrangements. Finally, it's game day. The Embassy is ready. Press from all over the world have gathered. The Chinese government is giving her an exceptionally warm welcome, and tomorrow she will meet with the President, Premier, State Councilor and Foreign Minister.

The warm response to Secretary Clinton's first trip to China is literally overwhelming. Already, we've had to improvise. Our carefully arranged plan for her to meet the staff and families of U.S. Embassy employees had to be scrapped just yesterday because the number of RSVPs shot past the maximum occupancy of the venue we'd selected for the event. Despite the fact that the Secretary's only available window is late on a Saturday afternoon, 430 people have already said they plan to come back to the office to see her.

I have noticed an incredible energy in the team that has come together to plan and execute this visit. This is not my first "S visit," and I am used to working with dedicated and professional colleagues, but this is somehow different. Everyone is so deeply invested in the success of this visit, no matter how big his or her job. Dozens of people have come up to me and volunteered to assist. I am excited, proud (and a little awed) to be part of it myself. Tomorrow is going to be a big day in U.S.-China relations.
]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/clinton_arrives_beijing/ 2009-02-20T20:05:36+00:00 About the Author: Ben Moeling serves as the Deputy Political Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China and Overall Control Officer for Secretary Clinton's Visit.

Related Entry: "U.S. Embassy in China Prepares for Secretary Clinton Visit" by U.S. Charge d'affaires in Beijing Dan Piccuta.

As I ride my Chinese bike into work, the way I do most days, I'm thinking about a hundred details related to the Secretary's visit. The arrival of the advance team was pushed up by three days, which is good in that it allows more time to plan together but bad because Embassy Beijing likes to have things squared away before the advance arrives. It's a point of pride, and now they're going to see us before we have a chance to get "cleaned up for company."

With plenty of time before "S" arrives, we are doing pretty well. We have a well-developed schedule, the Secretary's vision for the trip is clear to everyone involved, and the Chinese government is as motivated as we are to make the visit a success. I'm optimistic about the overall picture, but still concerned about the details -- which I should be, because looking after them is my job. In particular, I am worried about synchronizing all events. We have some of the U.S. government's best and brightest working on those separate but interconnected parts of the visit, so I am confident we'll succeed.

I pull up to the garage entrance. The Charge[d'affaires] gives me a shout as he gets of his car, and we walk into the Embassy together. This gives me a chance to brief him on the calls I got from Washington the previous evening and that morning. We plan an all-hands countdown meeting for the afternoon, and he reminds me we need to think about the "wheels-up" party we're going to throw after the Secretary's departure to thank all the people who worked so hard on the visit. Great point.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/advance_team_wheels-up/ 2009-02-20T13:43:36+00:00