Chinese first lady visits U.S. art school

Peng Liyuan (1st L), wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump (2nd L), applaud to a performance by students during their visit to the Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, the United States, April 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

PALM BEACH, United States, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Friday visited an art school in this southeastern U.S. coastal town accompanied by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump.

At the Bak Middle School of the Arts, Peng visited different classrooms, watched performances by students and talked with them. She also joined a class about politics and economics, answered a question from a student reporter about her connection with arts, and was presented with a student's painting as souvenir.

Noting that China and the United States should enhance communication and cooperation in the area of arts, Peng said she hopes that teachers and students of the Bak Middle School of the Arts will make greater contribution in strengthening bilateral ties and friendship through education and arts.

Peng is in Palm Beach with Xi for the Chinese president's first meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump. The two leaders agreed that the meeting, held at the seaside Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, was "positive and fruitful."

Peng Liyuan (7th R, Front), wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump (6th L, Front) pose with students during their visit to the Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, the United States, April 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)