On Chinese President Xi Jinping's Washington trip, some see wife Peng Liyuan as a soft-power superweapon, projecting a gentler, more approachable image of China, despite its disputes with the US ▻ ↧ China's first lady Peng Liyuan turns soft power on US audience She chatted with US first lady Melania Trump in English without a ​translator, and sang along quietly when serenaded by a youth choir, looking effortlessly glamorous in a ‌modern take on a traditional Chinese outfit.