Major step in image building

Public diplomacy and soft power are needed to present the real and complex China to the rest of the world

President Xi Jinping paid state visits to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo between March 22 and 30 and he also attended the fifth BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa. During the tour, Xi demonstrated the learned and refined presence of China's new leadership, and his plain but thought-provoking speeches have been very impressive.

But this was not just Xi's first foreign trip as head of state and his debut on an important multilateral international stage, it was also the debut in the international diplomatic arena of first lady Peng Liyuan, who is one of China's best-known singers and who was quite popular among Chinese people even before her husband became president. Peng's graceful and glamorous international debut as first lady highlighted China's new soft power diplomacy.