Chu is a former Berkeley and Stanford professor of physics and head of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, while Locke is a former Washington State governor and a long-time supporter of US-China commercial exchanges. Each packs the kind of soft, utilitarian powers of persuasion that Chinese leaders are most willing to embrace: academic degrees from prestigious universities, advanced scientific and technological knowledge, high office, and a Nobel Prize.
朱棣文原先是伯克利大学和斯坦福大学的物理学教授，劳伦斯·伯克利国家实验室主任。而骆家辉是前华盛顿州州长，长期以来一直致力于中美贸易关系正常化。两人都带有务实柔性的外交气质，这也是中国领导人希望接触的人选：名校出身的学术背景，先进的科技知识，高阶的政府职位，以及诺贝尔奖得主（朱棣文是五名华裔的诺贝尔奖得主之一，然而令中方尴尬的是，这五名都不具有中国国籍，）