DHAKA: A Chinese academic study hailed the role of the country’s first lady in public diplomacy, reports said Thursday, the latest sign of Beijing’s hunger for soft power on the global stage.

Peng Liyuan, the wife of president Xi Jinping, has ‘enchanted domestic and international media’, said the Renmin University study, reports The Straits Times.

It hailed Peng’s ‘modesty, appearance and elegant manners, as well as her passion for charity and attention to vulnerable groups’, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper.

‘China has conveyed kindness and goodwill to the world through the first lady’s public diplomacy when the country has been challenged during the rapid economic development,’ it added.

BDST: 1222 HRS, APR 16, 2015
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