Why is Sam going to China? He's the mayor elect in Portland, not Beijing. He wrote an entire blog post that told us who and where, but not when (how long is the trip), and why he's going there. Is this a personal vacation, or an official City of Portland paid trip. When you offer so little detail you invite speculation.

The State Department is still responsible for foreign relations, the Commerce Department is responsible for foreign trade. I imagine the State of Oregon even has an international trade liasion and/or representative.

If this is an official trip, what does he hope to accomplish, who is he meeting with, and how can we measure his success?

Just because we call it the People's Republic of Portland doesn't Sam's engaging in person to person diplomatic relations with the Communist Government, right?