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Peng Liyuan joins diplomatic whirl in first overseas trip since coronavirus pandemic began
- Peng accompanied her husband, President Xi Jinping, to Indonesia and Thailand for last week’s G20 and Apec summits
- She attended events held alongside those meetings in what was seen as an effort to show a more friendly side of China
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Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has returned to the diplomatic stage after a three-year absence, with poverty alleviation and environmental protection on her agenda.
As Xi engaged in a flurry of diplomacy at last week’s Group of 20 summit in Bali and the Apec meeting in Bangkok, Peng – a soprano and famous folk singer – attended events held alongside those gatherings.
It was her first in-person diplomatic engagement outside China since the coronavirus pandemic began – Peng was last seen abroad with Xi in November 2019 for the BRICS summit in Brazil.
At an event on Tuesday with other spouses of G20 leaders, Peng called on China and Indonesia to strengthen exchanges and cooperation to ease poverty and protect the environment.
On Wednesday, she discussed public welfare and charity, and the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis and Aids, with Indonesian first lady Iriana Joko Widodo. They also watched students perform an Indonesian song in Chinese at a Confucius Institute.
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