Does life imitate art, or does it just seem that the longer the Trump adventure proceeds the more it resembles “House of Cards?” I’m not suggesting that our real-life drama borrows from the Netflix series, now seen round the world, but there is a sense in which the real and make-believe of American politics are converging as never before. Consider the debate over “real” news versus “fake news.” Consider that fact and non-reality are intertwined as never before in social media, IT games, and movies.

After years spent exhorting the virtues of soft power, Western diplomats must be watching House of Cards with gloom.

From the wild popularity of such shows as “24” with super-agent Jack Bauer out to save the world, to the popular sequels of the end-of-the-world “Transformers” movie, American television series and movies have always played well in China.