China’s Peng Liyuan Hosts German President’s Wife at Beijing Tea Reception

Soft power on display as China’s first lady Peng Liyuan hosts German counterpart

China’s first lady Peng Liyuan hosted Elke Buedenbender, wife of visiting German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at a tea reception in Beijing on Friday.

Education, culture and closer contact

The reception was held in a bid to showcase Beijing’s soft power and foster closer bilateral ties.

Peng stressed the rich cooperation with Germany in areas including education and culture, according to official news agency Xinhua.

She also expressed hope that people from the two countries would “visit each other more often, continuously deepen mutual understanding and foster closer people-to-people bonds”, the report said.

The appeal placed greater contact between people in the two countries alongside education and culture as areas connected to closer relations.

The meeting therefore combined a soft-power objective with a call for more frequent visits, deeper mutual understanding and stronger people-to-people bonds between China and Germany.

Source: South China Morning Post