US First Lady Michelle Obama waves as she walks off a plane at Beijing Capital International Airport on Thursday, followed by her daughters Malia and Sasha. Mrs Obama is kicking off a weeklong, three-city tour of China that analysts said will further advance relations between Beijing and Washington. [Photo by Wang Jing/chinadaily.com.cn]
US first Lady Michelle Obama arrived in China yesterday with her daughters Malia and Sasha and mother Marian Robinson for a weeklong visit that will focus on education and personal contacts.
Her schedule includes a speech to Chinese and American students at Peking University in Beijing and visits to the cities of Xi'an in the northwest and Chengdu in the southwest. Today, she will spend time with China's first lady Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping.
"I think this is a very good opportunity to improve China-US relations, as the first lady can represent the soft side of diplomacy," said Wang Dong, a political scientist at Peking University's School of International Studies.
"Michelle Obama herself has been accomplished in areas such as women's rights, children issues and education, and I think members of the Chinese public are anticipating her visit with a positive attitude."
The first lady will use her personal stories to express American values, according to White House officials preparing the trip.
"Her focus on people-to-people relations, her focus on education and youth empowerment is one we believe will resonate in China," Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, told reporters ahead of the visit.
"We also believe it's a message that is really fundamentally in the interests of the United States."
The first lady and her family will visit the Forbidden City and Great Wall in Beijing.
While in Xi'an, they plan to visit the ancient city walls and the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum.
In Chendgu, visits to a high school and a panda conservation center are on their itinerary.
The trip provides an opportunity for President Barack Obama and Xi to cultivate a personal relationship through their wives following their meeting in Sunnylands in California last year, Wang said.
"Such a personal relationship with mutual trust is crucial, as the China-US relationship has entered a more challenging phase," Wang said.
Peng accompanied her husband on the Sunnylands visit but did not meet the first lady, who was in Washington.
Shen Dingli, a professor of international relations at Shanghai's Fudan University, called Peng, a popular folk singer, a "national asset."
"She is more than qualified for the job," Shen said. "Before the Chinese people knew President Xi, they knew Peng Liyuan. She is a household name."
Willy Lam, a political analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: "She has a good presence on television. This is a formidable soft power China can use for the world to see China is not a monolithic society."
