Burgers and bubble tea are the unlikely bridge between the U.S. and China

China and the United States are divided on many issues, from tariffs and technology to Taiwan. But there is one thing tying them together: fast food. American restaurant and beverage chains are expanding rapidly in China, drawn by the potential customer pool in a country with four times the U.S. population. China’s languishing economy and cutthroat industry competition, meanwhile, have Chinese chains trying their luck in the U.S., turning crumbs and straws into a two-way cultural bridge between the two superpowers. The bilateral trade in burgers and bubble tea is business- and consumer-led gastrodiplomacy in action, said Yaling Jiang, the…