KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, hosted Elke Budenbender, wife of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at a tea reception in Beijing recently during Steinmeier’s state visit to China, China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported.
Recalling her 2017 visit to Germany with Xi, Peng spoke warmly of the friendship between the two countries and praised Budenbender’s long-standing work to protect the rights and interests of women and children.
The two watched a short film on cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Germany. Peng said the two countries enjoy rich and diverse cooperation in areas including education and culture and expressed hope that their people would deepen mutual understanding and friendship.
Budenbender thanked Peng for her hospitality, praised her contributions to cultural exchanges between the two countries and said she was ready to help strengthen cooperation and friendship between the two peoples.
According to CGTN in a statement, exchanges between the two countries span language, festivals, arts, tourism and education.
The Leibniz Confucius Institute in Hanover runs summer camps, online language-partner programmes and speech contests that are drawing a growing number of German students to China, while the Bonn-based Burg Chinese Chorus took 80 students and teachers to Yunnan for the Yi Torch Festival.
Berlin’s Red Town Hall has hosted a Chinese New Year gala for 12 consecutive years, and Frankfurt and Duisburg have held Chinese festivals featuring traditional dance, music, film and tai chi.
China has extended its visa-free policy for German citizens through 2026, making two-way travel easier, CGTN said.
