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
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.
In Thailand, Peng’s name appeared alongside Xi’s on a roadside billboard offering them a “warm welcome”, and the pair were greeted by soldiers and Thai Chinese waving flags when they arrived for the Apec summit.
Peng visited a music college and museum with Naraporn Chan-ocha, the wife of Thailand’s prime minister, on Saturday. Peng’s 60th birthday was marked with Thai folk dancing and traditional Chinese music at a banquet later that day hosted by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his wife, according to videos circulating on social media.
