China’s first lady Peng Liyuan reaches out to US students during Beijing sports event

Peng calls on young people from both countries to ‘inject positive energy into bilateral relations’ during event to help improve China-US exchanges

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Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, shakes hands with students at Beijing No. 8 High School during a sports and culture event on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 4:12pm, 25 Sep 2024Updated: 6:31pm, 25 Sep 2024

A “tree of friendship” between China and the US can be nurtured through travel experiences, Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, told a group of Chinese and American students at a friendly basketball match between the high school teams in Beijing on Tuesday.

The sports and culture event, billed as a “Shared Journey for China-US Friendship”, was held at the Beijing No 8 High School on Tuesday afternoon. It welcomed a youth delegation from 10 high schools in the US state of Washington, who recently toured the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Shandong.

Peng said she hoped that the young people of both countries could “know each other better” and “inject positive energy into bilateral relations”, adding that future ties rested on them, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan watches routines by Chinese and US student cheerleaders on Tuesday in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

After watching the match between the Chinese and US teams, Peng presented the students with commemorative medals, while noting that the trip had “helped forge a deep friendship” between the two sides. The players also sang Chinese and English songs together.

The American students were invited by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, an official people-to-people diplomacy organisation that aims to “enhance people’s friendship, further international cooperation, safeguard world peace and promote common development”.

Their visit was part of an initiative by Xi to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programmes over five years. It was announced during his visit to San Francisco last November, when he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.

During the trip, Xi also encouraged US governors, congressional members and “people from all walks of life” to visit China, saying “the hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels”.