Peng encourages artistic ties with France

Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, has expressed the hope that artists from China and France, which are both major cultural countries, will strengthen exchanges and mutual learning and create more outstanding artistic works.

Peng made the remarks on Thursday when visiting the Beijing People's Art Theatre with Brigitte Macron, who is accompanying her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, on his three-day state visit to China.

During their tour, Peng and Brigitte Macron gained a detailed understanding of the development of the Beijing People's Art Theatre and its exchanges with the French theater community.

They viewed the stage set of the classic Chinese play Teahouse, and Peng invited the French first lady to watch a play segment. The two also engaged in warm conversations with the performers.

Peng said that generations of Chinese dramatists have adhered to inheriting and promoting the fine traditional Chinese culture in their artistic creations, and learned from foreign theaters, actively advancing innovation and development.

Brigitte Macron spoke highly of Chinese dramatic arts and expressed her willingness to actively promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries, in order to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

Founded in June 1952, the Beijing People's Art Theatre has staged more than 300 plays. In 1980, Teahouse became the first Chinese play to tour abroad, with performances held in three European countries, including France.

zhoujin@chinadaily.com.cn