With a revolutionary hero for a father and a pop star for a wife, China's new leader Xi Jinping has impeccable political pedigree but has given few clues about how he will govern the country. Xi, 59, walked into the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday as general-secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the most powerful position in the world's most populous country and second-biggest economy. He is expected to become national president in March and hold both posts for the next decade.

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China's next first lady Peng Liyuan is a dazzling singer whose profile long eclipsed that of her husband Xi Jinping, and who will bring a touch of glamour to a role hidden in the shadows for decades. A soprano known for singing the praises of the party, Peng holds the rank of army general and starred for 24 years in an annual Lunar New Year gala broadcast on state television and watched by hundreds of millions of viewers.

 

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In his travels abroad, Xi Jinping has often been something unusual for a Chinese communist leader: an ordinary guy. In Ireland, he stopped at a stadium to kick a football around.

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Xi's public persona is given a sprinkle of glamour by his wife Peng Liyuan, who holds the rank of army general and sings songs praising the party. Comparisons are already being drawn between Peng and Carla Bruni, the singer and model who wed France's President Nicolas Sarkozy.

 

 

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인민해방군 소장(우리의 준장)이다.

When her huband joined the Politburo Standing Committee, the country's highest ruling body, in 2007 she was far better known. Peng finally retired from the television show shortly afterwards - with some speculating it was to avoid overshadowing Xi - and has since scarcely been referred to in China's tightly controlled state-run media.

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In recent months she has had a behind-the-scenes role as artistic director for military troupe performances welcoming the party congress, according to the few mentions of her in state media. Peng comes from an area in the eastern province of Shandong known for its peony flowers - she was nicknamed the "Peony Fairy" by her admirers - and joined the army at the age of 18. A semi-official biography posted on Chinese web portals tells how she began as an ordinary soldier but began performing at PLA shows to boost troop morale. She has since performed in 50 countries.

 

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A giant screen on a McDonald's restaurant in Beijing shows a speech by Xi Jinping, the new head of China's ruling Communist PartyPicture: EPA/WANG WEI