The baron’s Bentley whisked the special delegation from a discreet rural airport past fields of Charolais cattle to his chateau, where a welcome banner – declaring in Chinese characters, “Long Live the Communist Party of China” – hung over the porch. Inside, the champagne was chilling.
Excited at the culmination of years of quiet diplomacy, Jean-Christophe von Pfetten – a French aristocrat and the first foreigner to be appointed to the upper house of China’s parliament – opened his 18th century door to a delegation of the Chinese military, including three retired generals.
Soon after, the second party pulled up – three officials of the Vatican, all monsignors, led by Ettore Balestrero, the Holy See’s equivalent of deputy foreign minister.
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