Peng Liyuan: China's new first lady, the 'Carla Bruni of the East', set to visit the Obamas
Dubbed the "Carla Bruni of the East", she is a glamorous and wildly famous folk singer who also happens to be married to China's most powerful man.
First Lady Peng Liyuan with her husband Xi Jinping Photo: Reuters
Tom Phillips in Shanghai
2:08PM BST 31 May 2013
Now, on the eve of president Xi Jinping's first official trip to the United States, Communist Party leaders are hoping that Peng Liyuan, China's new first lady, can help transform their country's international image and boost Beijing's long-standing quest for soft power.
When president Xi's Air China Boeing 747 touches down in California next week, carrying him to an intimate two-day summit with Barack Obama, foreign policy experts will be looking for signs that the two leaders can forge a relationship that heralds a new era in relations between Washington and Beijing.
But among ordinary Chinese much of the focus is likely to be on the rapport – and fashion sense – shared by Michelle Obama and Ms Peng, a 50-year-old People's Liberation Army soprano known for hits including "People From Our Village" and "On the Plains of Hope".
China is not known for its first ladies and historically the wives of its uniformly male presidents have rarely entered the limelight.
Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese Vice President Xi Jingping, sings during a grand celebration for the National Day in Beijing. Picture: AFP
But just three months into her new role Ms Peng has already smashed that mold, raising hopes at home that her globe-trotting can help recast the way in which China is seen by the world.
The PLA singer has made a scintillating start. In March she sparked an online frenzy in China as micro-bloggers heaped praise on her unusually colourful dress sense during Mr Xi's first international missions to Russia, Tanzania, the Republic of Congo and South Africa.
"First lady's radiance delights world and boosts soft power," the state-run Global Times cooed after Ms Peng's first foreign excursion.
The overwhelmingly positive domestic reaction hinted at the first lady's ability to curry favour for Mr Xi at home and analysts believe Ms Peng could prove an equally important asset overseas as Beijing seeks to match its indisputable economic and military might with a long-elusive touch of soft power.
Shen Dingli, a professor of international relations at Shanghai's Fudan University, said the first lady, who has also been compared to Jackie Kennedy, Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton, could be instrumental in showing the world China's attractiveness.
China's First Lady Peng Liyuan (left) and Tanzania's First Lady Salma Kikwete take part in a welcoming ceremony in Dar es Salaam, March 24, 2013. Picture: Reuters
"She is talented. She is presentable. She shows respect to others and expresses the desire to work harmoniously together," he said. "The first lady has a graceful way of presenting the ways in which China is attractive."
Few details of the June 7-8 summit in Rancho Mirage, California have been released but Ms Peng's presence at what the Chinese are calling the "Xi O meeting" was confirmed on Thursday by the Californian newspaper The Desert Sun.
Marcos Caramuru de Paiva, a veteran Brazilian diplomat whose country is often cited as a global expert in soft power, said Ms Peng could play a leading role in winning foreign hearts and minds.
While Brazil had successfully deployed football and carnival as diplomatic weapons, China had failed to capitalise on its vibrant culture, said Mr de Paiva, Brazil's former consul in Shanghai.
"China tries to do this selectively, using the panda [But] they don't know how to use their cultural assets. They find it hard to show this side [of themselves]. It's incredible because their culture is so rich."
Ms Peng, he predicted, would help soften the Communist Party's "heavy, bureaucratic face". "The key is this lightness. If China can project lightness then it will be able to soften the world's view of the country."
