A seat at the table: Mitchell Silk’s journey from Beijing to the White House

‘Providence” is the word most used by Mitchell Silk to describe his journey from washing dishes at his friend’s Chinese restaurant to negotiating trade deals with China for US President Donald Trump.

Silk’s journey began in the 1970s. After befriending recent arrivals from Hong Kong at his Florida high school, he took up a job washing dishes at their parents’ restaurant, where, following several promotions, he picked up Cantonese. He quickly became inspired to pursue his interest in China, deciding to take an intensive Mandarin course following high school.

At this time, it was still near impossible for an undergraduate student to study in mainland China. As a result, Silk to decide to pursue his undergraduate studies in Taiwan, where he honed his skills in Mandarin.

Upon the completion of his studies, Silk returned to the United States to complete a law degree, although his interest in China didn’t fade. He would eventually be invited to study in mainland China in the mid-1980s, studying law with a focus on trade, at Beijing University.

At the time Silk arrived in China, it had only just opened to foreigners. Yet, when visiting Kaifeng, the ancient home of China’s Jews, there were familiarities.

In those days, when foreigners traveled between Chinese cities, they were required to register at the local Chinese travel authority, in this case located at their hotel. Silk and his friends spoke with the local authority to locate the now-abandoned Kaifeng Synagogue. The local authority seemed reticent to help, perhaps due to the religious nature of the trip; religion was strongly discouraged by the state at the time.

A hotel worker spotted them as they left and asked them for help. A foreigner, another visiting Jew as it happened, was suffering from a severe case of food poisoning in her hotel room, and none of the workers could communicate with her. Silk and his friends quickly realized that the woman would need to be taken to the hospital. Fearing her condition would take a turn for the worse, she asked him to bring her tallit to the hospital. As it turned out, the woman was a Reform rabbi from LA. Even as a stranger in a strange land, there was a Jewish connection.

Silk and his friends would eventually reach the abandoned synagogue, once home to China’s only permanent Jewish population. The synagogue had been mostly abandoned by the end of the 19th century, after the community had assimilated.

When they arrived, there was little to indicate its former status, in keeping with state policies toward religion. Thanks to his linguistic skills, Silk was directed to the descendant of one of the last Halachic Kaifeng Jews, though she, too, was reticent to speak with a foreigner in the street, let alone about religion.

SILK RETURNED to the US and began his career on Wall Street, later being appointed to his firm’s Hong Kong office. His career on Wall Street served as the bridge that brought him to the White House.

His first appointment was early on in the Trump administration, working initially in 2017 as deputy assistant secretary, international affairs, at the US Department of the Treasury, before being appointed by Trump in 2019 as assistant secretary of the Treasury for international markets, and being formally confirmed by the Senate in April 2020.

Silk’s confirmation marked a first for the United States; he was the first hassidic Jew to be confirmed to a senior US administration position.

During his time at the Treasury, he worked on several major pieces of infrastructure, including energy infrastructure. Silk made clear that he feels that his willingness to open his home and sit down to dinner with officials was part of his success.

Silk contended that significant progress had been made with China during the first Trump administration. Before then, China had been heavily involved in unfair trade practices, involving a variety of issues ranging from patent infringement to subsidies. Silk argued that Trump’s tough stances and early tariffs set him apart from previous administrations. Silk believes Trump’s bullish attitude paid off with the Phase One trade deal, which sought to protect intellectual property, prevent the forced transfer of technology, and create a fairer trade environment.

However, the deal largely fell apart in the wake of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Only months after the beginning of the pandemic, Silk was involved, through his role at the Treasury, in helping create the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The bill provided nearly $2.2 trillion in economic stimulus as the pandemic was beginning. This amounted to the largest stimulus package in US history, accounting for just over 10% of the US economy. To add to the gargantuan size of the package, there was no blueprint to work from; the package was created from scratch. The bill was put together over the course of nearly a week. Previous stimulus packages had been designed to tackle either a pandemic or a recession – not both at the same time.

When asked about the current Trump administration, he described it as “turbo-charged,” having already achieved nearly 10 trade deals across the world, including with the EU, UK, and Japan.

Economists have panned the tariffs introduced by Trump, saying they will harm the US. Silk, however, believes that they may hurt in the short term, as markets readjust, but that in the long term, the benefits to the US will be enough to counteract the short-term effects of the tariffs.

Indeed, we can see the “turbo-charged” Trump effect in his willingness to jet across the world to achieve not just trade deals but peace deals, too.

As Trump’s global economics revolution takes hold, we asked Silk how this might affect Israel. Silk had positive views regarding the protection of key infrastructure – in particular, investment in Israel’s ports. He saw a brighter future for Israel’s energy market, with exports to Jordan already in tow and future expansion of the Abraham Accords with Saudi Arabia and Syria showing promise.

In his new book, A Seat at the Table, Silk covers some of the topics he dealt with in government, providing interesting anecdotes from his life as well as new perspectives on the public deals which are well known.

The book is a departure from his earlier writings, which focus more on the technical and legal aspects of international trade, particularly in relation to China. The book aims to provide a well-rounded and personal understanding of the inner workings of international trade negotiations.

Silk’s insights into the Chinese approach to negotiations and his near-native Mandarin skills helped the team navigate the cultural and diplomatic issues that arose during the negotiations.

The book serves as an excellent reminder that the small decisions we take as teenagers, such as to help out at a friend’s restaurant, can affect the rest of our lives.