First Lady of China

History

During Liu Shaoqi 's tenure as President of China, he and his wife Wang Guangmei made several overseas visits. Foreign media often referred to Wang Guangmei as "First Lady," which displeased Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing. Jiang Qing believed that as the wife of the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, she was the rightful First Lady. This laid the groundwork for the later criticism and struggle against Liu Shaoqi and his wife during the Cultural Revolution.

Until 2013, when Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, visited Russia, Tanzania and South Africa with his wife Peng Liyuan, the official Chinese media Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily and Global Times referred to Peng Liyuan as "China’s First Lady", which sparked a "First Lady fever" in China. After that, official reports mostly referred to Peng Liyuan as "Xi Jinping’s wife", and when she visited foreign countries, she was referred to as "Professor Peng Liyuan".