During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, his wife, Peng Liyuan, appeared in a distinctive role, conveying a more approachable and human image of China. Her appearance came at a time when relations between Beijing and Washington are facing numerous tensions, ranging from trade and artificial intelligence to the issue of Taiwan.
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One of the highlights of the visit was her meeting with U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, with whom Peng communicated in English without an interpreter present. She also took part in a cultural event at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, where a children’s choir performed the traditional Chinese song “Jasmine Flower” for her. After the song, the children greeted her by saying, “Thank you, Mother Peng!”
Dressed in a contemporary version of a traditional Chinese outfit, Peng applauded the children after their performance.
China’s ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, posted a video from the event on the X platform and said that Peng had urged American teenagers to continue learning the Chinese language and culture. According to Xie, young people should serve as “ambassadors of friendship” between China and the United States.
Reuters described the engagement as part of China’s “soft power,” through which Beijing seeks to present a more human dimension of the country, beyond its diplomatic clashes with Washington.
Joe Mazur, a geopolitical analyst at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China, said Peng “helps give a more human face to an otherwise difficult diplomacy and creates moments of positive sentiment in U.S.-China relations.”
However, on Chinese social media, Peng’s activities and outfits during her stay in the United States received far less attention. This is linked to the sensitivity surrounding public discussions of the private lives of China’s top political figures.
Traditionally, the wives of China’s top leaders have maintained a low profile. One reason is connected to the history of Chiang Ching, Mao Zedong’s wife and one of the leading figures of the “Gang of Four,” who wielded considerable influence during the Cultural Revolution.
For her role in the persecutions of the Cultural Revolution, Chiang Ching was sentenced to death in 1981, but the sentence was later commuted.
Peng Liyuan was a well-known name in China long before Xi Jinping rose to the highest levels of politics. She is a soprano and renowned singer, and has also performed as a military singer.
During the 2000s, as Xi Jinping advanced through the political hierarchy, Chinese media began to have more room to report on Peng’s public appearances.
In a 2007 interview with a state-run magazine, she described her relationship with Xi in familial terms. Peng said that when he returned home, she did not see him as a leader, but simply as her husband.
Peng has also supported several social causes, including issues concerning people living with HIV/AIDS.
She is Xi Jinping’s second wife, and together they have a daughter who studied at Harvard University. Xi had previously divorced his first wife, the daughter of a Chinese diplomat.
