Why China's First Lady Peng Liyuan Is The Face Of Country's Fashion Diplomacy
Peng Liyuan, China's First Lady, is increasingly utilized as a 'soft power' asset to project a more approachable image of China during international diplomatic engagements. Despite her effective public diplomacy, domestic discussion regarding her personal life remains strictly controlled by the state.
Why it matters
It highlights the strategic use of cultural diplomacy by the Chinese government to soften its international image while maintaining rigid control over domestic narratives.
She chatted with US first lady Melania Trump in English without a translator, and sang along quietly when serenaded by a youth choir, looking effortlessly glamorous in a modern take on a traditional Chinese outfit.On Chinese President Xi Jinping's Washington trip, his wife Peng Liyuan is his soft power superweapon, projecting a gentler, more approachable image of China, despite its disputes with the United States over everything from trade to Taiwan."Thank you, mother Peng!" children in the choir told her, after performing Chinese folk song "Jasmine Flower" at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art in Washington on Thursday.China's Washington ambassador, Xie Feng, highlighted her diplomatic role on X, posting a video of Peng applauding the performance.Peng "encouraged American teenagers to continue studying the Chinese language and culture and to become envoys of friendship between China and the United States", Xie wrote."She helps to put a more human face on…
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