He is typical "double-face" person: trained and now live in USA making $, but still selected the song the NY Times called "regretafull" to play in goodwill dinner.
Not even know how to be a nice guest in party, but sure he know the impact to his future in China. As for for USA's reaction, no problem, they have big heart, so big reward/risk ratio!
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor told ABC News that “any suggestion that this was an insult to the United States is just flat wrong. As Lang Lang has stated before, he plays this song regularly because it is one of his favorite Chinese melodies, which is very widely known and popular in China for its melody. Lang Lang played the song without lyrics or reference to any political themes during the entertainment portion of the State Dinner. He simply stated the song’s title and noted it was well known in China.”
Lang has issued a statement saying that he “selected this song because it has been a favorite of mine since I was a child. It was selected for no other reason but for the beauty of its melody.” His goal is to “bridge cultures together through the beauty and inspiration of music.”
Asked what he thought of the controversy, Kenneth Lieberthal -- director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution and a former special assistant to President Clinton for national security affairs and senior director for Asia on the National Security Council – said “I have enough confidence to be easily able to accept Lang lang’s assertion that this is simply a favorite melody of his, that is obviously a Chinese melody, and that he used it without any thought that it might have a political resonance for some that simply never occurred to him.”
If there is any political connotation: the words "When friends are here, there is fine wine /But if the wolves (or jackals) come /What greets it is the hunting rifle." is actually a gesture of friendship and a warning.
It is so simple to see that if USA and China can be friends, then fine wine awaits. Otherwise, armed conflict.
Since Hu and Obama is drinking wine at the time of this music, it would mean they are friends, at least for now.