Melania Trump and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan, toured the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington as part of a highly visible diplomatic visit. They viewed the Peacock Room and Whistler works and were serenaded by local Chinese schoolchildren. Analysts said the meeting — the first public encounter between the spouses in nearly a decade — served as a symbolic act of cultural diplomacy and will be closely watched for signals about U.S.‑China relations.
Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan Tour Smithsonian in High‑Profile Cultural Diplomacy
First lady of China Peng Liyuan, right, and first lady Melania Trump, pose for a photo with choir students from the Hope Chinese School at the Smithsonian's National Museum Of Asian Art, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (Finn Gomez/Pool Photo via AP)(Finn Gomez/POOL Getty Images North America via AP)
Melania Trump and China's first lady, Peng Liyuan, spent Thursday touring the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, using cultural exchange and ceremony to underscore ties between the United States and China during a high‑profile diplomatic visit.
Leaving their husbands at the White House, the two first ladies visited the museum in a showcase of soft power that paired two figures known for blending style with public roles. The meeting was the first public encounter between the spouses in nearly a decade: Melania Trump, a former fashion model, and Peng Liyuan, a celebrated soprano and former military singer.
First lady of China Peng Liyuan, from left, and first lady Melania Trump react as children perform during a visit to the Smithsonian's National Museum Of Asian Art, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (Finn Gomez/Pool Photo via AP)(Finn Gomez/POOL Getty Images North America via AP)
On the sidewalk outside the museum, crowds gathered waving Chinese and American flags and holding long banners with Chinese text. Inside, the women toured the Peacock Room, a richly decorated dining interior in shades of green, blue and gold that was relocated from a London mansion and has been on public display in Washington since 1923. They also viewed James McNeill Whistler's oil painting, Princess From The Land Of Porcelain, which depicts a kimono‑clad woman holding a fan.
Later in the visit, students from Hope Chinese School performed traditional songs, including Song And Smile and Jasmine Flower, for the first ladies.
First lady of China Peng Liyuan, left, and first lady Melania Trump arrive to a visit at the Smithsonian's National Museum Of Asian Art, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (Finn Gomez/Pool Photo via AP)(Finn Gomez/POOL Getty Images North America via AP)
Diplomacy, Presentation and Public Roles
Analysts said the encounter was likely to be parsed for symbolic signals about U.S.‑China relations and that the two women's style and presentation would attract attention in fashion circles and on social media. Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, said the appearance of both first ladies adds to the 'grandiosity and the symbolic significance' of the trip.
'They definitely add to the grandiosity and the symbolic significance of this trip,' said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center.
Peng has taken a relatively prominent public role compared with some predecessors, rising to national fame in China in the 1980s as a military singer and later serving as an antismoking advocate and, in 2011, as a World Health Organization goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Melania Trump generally maintains a lower public profile and often works behind the scenes.
First lady of China Peng Liyuan, left, and first lady Melania Trump visit the Smithsonian's National Museum Of Asian Art, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (Finn Gomez/Pool Photo via AP)(Finn Gomez/POOL Getty Images North America via AP)
The museum visit took place while President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping held private talks at the White House, following a presidential welcome ceremony and ahead of a state dinner.
Museum Context
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art is one of the largest institutions of its kind in the United States, with a collection of more than 46,000 objects spanning the Neolithic period to the present. The museum has participated in efforts to repatriate objects believed to have been stolen or acquired unethically; last year it returned fragments of a silk manuscript to China that dated to more than 2,000 years old after determining they had been looted from a tomb.
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a photo before a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The institution has also been drawn into debates about museum content after the White House ordered a review of Smithsonian museums to ensure exhibits 'celebrate American exceptionalism' and remove 'divisive or partisan narratives.'
Speaking in a Fox News Channel interview before the visit, Melania Trump said she was bringing Peng to the museum to 'show the connection with the culture, with us and China.'
Peng's previous White House appearances include a 2015 visit during the Obama administration, when she participated in a naming ceremony for a giant panda at the National Zoo and enjoyed musical performances by local preschoolers. That panda, Bei Bei, returned to China in 2019 to join a breeding program.
Reporting: Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Didi Tang and Fu Ting contributed to this report.
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