Christopher Nixon Cox, the grandson of former President Richard Nixon, visited China last week with his wife, supermarket billionaire heiress Andrea Catsimatidis, re-creating his grandfather’s historic trip to China in 1972. Cox’s trip, which was planned by the Nixon Foundation and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, purposefully retraced Nixon’s trip, which opened up diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China.

Cox And Catsimatidis
Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of former President Nixon, and his wife, Andrea Catsimatidis, recreated Nixon's historic 1972 trip to China. TheShanghaiist.com

Though Cox, a 34-year-old investment banker, has been to China more than 15 times for work, he and 23-year-old Catsimatidis hit all the obligatory landmarks that his grandfather once made: Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People and the Great Wall.

Cox And Catsimatidis
Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of former President Nixon, and his wife, Andrea Catsimatidis, recreated Nixon's historic 1972 trip to China. TheShanghaiist.com

“I remember my grandfather telling me that to have 1 billion of the world’s most hardworking and talented people in isolation is something that is dangerous for the world,” Cox said to the L.A. Times this past Saturday while lunching near the Great Wall. “He felt that a prosperous China was critical for peace and stability.”

While Cox and the media spent a lot of time drawing political parallels between the two Nixon men, mentioning Cox’s run for Congress in 2010 or reminiscing about the older Nixon’s initial trip to China, Chinese netizens were more focused on the lady in red.

Cox And Catsimatidis
Christopher Nixon Cox, grandson of former President Nixon, and his wife, Andrea Catsimatidis, recreated Nixon's historic 1972 trip to China. Weibo

“Can we make sure she isn’t an inflatable doll?” one user posted, noting Catsimatidis’ tight clothing and platinum blonde hair.

Others were far less discreet with their word choice.

“Is that woman’s super-large chest real!?” a user asked bluntly, ignoring the historical significance of the trip.

“Sorry, but your wife looks like a porn star,” another user added.

Others were disappointed in Catsimatidis, saying her choice of clothing was disrespectful.

“Did she really think that was OK [to wear]? She at least wore red [an auspicious color in China], but everything else is just a distraction from the significance of the trip,” a blogger said.

Others noted that age may have influenced her fashion choices.

"She's actually still quite young! Let's not criticize; she can wear what she wants," a blogger said in her defense.