Peng Liyuan, the star wife of Xi Jinping, a pop singer who became the first lady of China

He appeared this Sunday, May 5, holding the hand of Chinese President Xi Jinping on the tarmac of Orly Airport in Paris. The presidential couple is on a state visit for several days, where they have to meet with Emmanuel Macron. The ever-elegant Peng Liyuan welcomed France to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries. But if her face is now known in the political arena, the wife of the Chinese president did not always have this life. It is surprising that many people in China know her mainly as a pop singer, not to say as a diva, but as the first lady. A career change that enhanced her and her husband’s reputation.

Sing for the soldiers

Peng Liyuan, 62, became first lady in 2013 after her husband, Xi Jinping, was elected head of state. At the time, he already had a solid career in music and thus saw his daily routine radically change when he decided to end his profession. However, the star has always had an appetite for politics, always remaining loyal to the ideology of his country. The daughter of a senior official in charge of cultural affairs in her native Shandong province, she grew up in a counter-revolutionary family environment. Thus, he was only 18 years old when he first joined the People’s Liberation Army, known as the Communist Red Army, as a soldier. The latter, who has just graduated from the Beijing National Conservatory and is fluent in English, is a great asset. Between lines and in front of other soldiers, he shouts to motivate the troops. A figure of hope who quickly earned her the nickname “the peony fairy,” distilling her sweet voice to lift fragile souls.

It was after this experience that he started singing more seriously. Among his most famous works are: Mount Everest, People of our villageor In the Plains of Hope. A discography that quickly made him famous across the country. About fifty tours are attributed to him. In addition, he especially performs on the stage of the annual New Year’s gala of the state television. A performance that he repeated for several years, singing patriotic and folk songs in military uniform. An iconic Chinese figure, Peng Liyuan is prized for her elegance, with a smooth face and always very traditional attire.

A career put aside

According to several media, the politician met Xi Jinping in the late 1980s through friends. At that time, he, who especially liked pop music, was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and the vice mayor of the port city of Xiamen. Having been married in the past, she fell in love with the young singer, to whom she quickly proposed and sealed her fate on September 1, 1987. The latter was 24 years old, he was 33. A few years later, c. the daily newspaper Zhanjiang Evening News, she was amused by their first meeting, confiding that she initially found him “a bit rough and old”. But something connects them. He likes her political beliefs, she appreciates that he maintains his independence and freedom. So, just four days after their marriage, he went alone to a festival in Beijing and then to Canada for three months, reports 2018. Sunday newspaper. In 1992, five years later, their first daughter named Xi Mingze was born.

Finally, in 2007, when Xi Jinping was running for the first time in Chongqing for the Chinese White House, he decided to retire. He, who also holds the rank of major general, is aware of the turn his fate is taking. But while he confided in 2011 that he liked to “go to the market by bicycle and negotiate with the traders”, he was still very much involved in politics. We quickly see that she accompanies her husband on official visits and, like any self-respecting president’s wife, gets involved in matters dear to her. Determined to promote the education of young girls at UNESCO, she was also appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and AIDS by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2011.

The 2nd favorite person of the Chinese people

Next year article Paris game explains how she “contributed greatly to the increase in popularity and softening of the image of her husband. His rank as a general and his reputation in the army helped him endear himself to the military, without which there is no career at the highest level. Also as explained International mail In 2012, one of his strategies from the beginning was to approach their intimate and everyday life without complications in the press; In my eyes, he is just my husband. And when I’m at home, he doesn’t consider me a famous singer. For him, I am just his wife,” he confided to the daily Zhanjiang Evening News.

Highly regarded in her own country, she has become a symbol of a more open, charming and bold China. He is the one who knew how to break the boundaries and touch all the layers of the society, bringing the common people into the elite. A position that earned him the title of second favorite Chinese person in 2012, according to several media outlets such as: Western France.