China’s First Lady Meets US Students in Effort to Improve Ties

Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, met with a group of visiting American students — underscoring Beijing’s efforts to repair ties with the US.

Peng greeted the visitors and their teachers at a high school in Beijing on Tuesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, saying she hoped young people from both nations would “inject positive energy into bilateral relations.”

Peng said she would like to see the youngsters from Washington state share their experiences when they returned home and “help nurture the tree of friendship between the two peoples.”

Peng’s comments follow on from Xi’s pledge last year in a meeting with President Joe Biden to bring 50,000 American students to China over the next five years to help stabilize ties between the nations.

Relations between Washington and Beijing slid to a new low earlier in 2023 when China floated a weather balloon over the US that the Biden administration said was part of a military-led spy program.

China’s efforts to develop so called people-to-people links have been undercut by events that participants said felt scripted and limited free-ranging discussion.

In June, Xi called for more exchanges between Chinese and American universities to boost mutual understanding. 

Bloomberg