"Created for Each Other".. What Do We Know About Peng Liyuan, the Wife of the Chinese President?

- Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, caught attention during her visit with her husband to the United States this week and her meetings with Melania Trump, the wife of American President Donald Trump. Peng hails from Shandong Province in eastern China and began receiving professional vocal training at the age of 16, then joined a military performance troupe in her twenties.

She became known as a soprano singer associated with the People's Liberation Army and is also a singer of Chinese folk music. Peng married leader Xi in 1987, and both realized from their first meeting that they were "created for each other," according to what Peng stated in an interview with official Chinese media.

At 63 years old, Peng has accompanied Xi on his foreign tours since he took office more than a decade ago. Her fashion choices, which often tend to be bold, contrast with the more conservative clothing worn by previous Chinese leaders' wives, while her active role in health and social welfare has become part of the "soft power" tools that Beijing seeks to establish its image abroad.

The last joint trip that brought Xi and Peng to the United States was in 2015 during the Obama administration. Peng also joined her husband in welcoming American President Donald Trump and his wife Melania at the Forbidden City in Beijing in 2017 during Trump's first visit to China.