With the vast amount of press coverage given over to what is driving President Trump as he struggles with both Democrats and Republicans in formulating and enacting many of his policies, it is interesting to note that there has been very little mention of his academic background. Not many people know, for instance, that Trump attended one of New York's most prestigious academies, the New York Military Academy (NYMA).

Chinese American Zhang Jie became NYMA’s first Asian and first female superintendent in the history of this military academy last summer. She told CGTN current affairs show The Point with Liu Xin that Trump spent five years there in the 1960s, and is seen as a very successful alumnus.

“From all of our understanding, he has been openly speaking of his experience at the New York Military Academy, very positively. He really gives a lot of credit to the education he received from the school, that’s very public, we are very proud that’s how he feels,” Zhang said.

NYMA sent a congratulation letter to Donald Trump after the presidential election, and he personally wrote a letter back to them from the White House.

“What really amazed us was that there was a stamp saying [the letter had] been seen by the president on such and such a date,” Zhang remembered. “So it definitely came from the White House. That was something we were happy about, his attitude towards the school.”

Meanwhile, expectations are high ahead of the meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. Ashley J. Tellis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told The Point that the meeting is extremely important, not only for the two countries, but also for the entire world.

He explained, “China-US relations have to be maintained at a certain balance. If China-US relations are frozen, it’s dangerous because it would put all of the Asian partners in a position where they have to choose. You have to cho‍ose one side or the other. That is something they don’t want to do, and that is something that is not productive either for them or for us. So we should keep the bilateral relationship in a cooperative frame. ”