When Michelle Obama declined to attend a crucial “shirtsleeves” summit between her husband and the newly promoted president of China last June, it was widely seen in Beijing as a stinging political snub.
The meeting was to be an unprecedented pairing of first ladies; Xi Jinping’s wife, an elegant People’s Liberation Army singer, has enough star power inside China to match her American counterpart. When Mrs Obama cancelled, it sent a signal that Peng Liyuan was an unwanted guest. Continue reading “Michelle Obama Tries to Take the Politics Out of US-China Relations With Family Trip”