Melania Trump, the wife of U.S. President Donald Trump, and Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, met again after nearly nine years. This marks their third meeting.
Peng Liyuan arrived at Andrews Joint Base near Washington, D.C., on September 23 at 5:39 p.m. local time, alongside President Xi Jinping on a private plane. President Trump and Melania Trump welcomed the Xi couple at the airport, reuniting the two first ladies after almost a decade.
The first meeting between the two first ladies took place in April 2017 during President Trump's first term, when the Xi couple visited Mar-a-Lago in Florida at Trump's invitation. At that time, Xi and Trump held a summit, and the two couples dined together at Mar-a-Lago.
The second meeting occurred in November of the same year in Beijing, during the Trumps' state visit to China. Xi and Peng welcomed them at the Forbidden City, where the couples toured the site, enjoyed tea, and viewed cultural heritage restoration techniques and exhibitions of ancient artifacts, as well as a Peking opera performance.
Notably, during their second meeting, Melania and Peng also engaged in separate cultural activities. Melania visited an elementary school in Beijing, observing classes in Peking opera, calligraphy, cooking, and architecture, and later visited the Beijing Zoo to see pandas and toured the Great Wall.
In their third meeting, the two first ladies will continue their cultural diplomacy. On September 24, Melania and Peng will visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., to view Asian art and explore the history of U.S.-China cultural exchanges. That evening, both couples will attend a state dinner at the White House. On September 25, the couples will have tea together at the White House before visiting the National Archives, where they will review historical records and documents related to U.S.-China relations.
The reunion of the two women in Washington, after their meetings in Mar-a-Lago and Beijing, highlights ongoing cultural diplomacy between the U.S. and China.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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