In the two years after her husband was appointed as Chinese premier in March 2013, Cheng often accompanied her husband on foreign visits.
During this period, a number of mainland media outlets published articles about Cheng, praising her background in the intelligentsia and her elegant temperament.
Also, she was often described as the “soft power” behind Li in the foreign media.
“Professor Cheng Hong is popular among her students. She is a person of authority in her field as a renowned scholar. As the wife of Li Keqiang, she stays away from social intercourse, and thus she wins respect from the public,” a report by Guangzhou Daily published in December 2013, said.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his wife Cheng Hong wave as they arrive in New Zealand in 2017. Photo: AFP
In the past few years Cheng has almost disappeared from the public view.
However, an article in the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily published in 2019, which did introduce a revised version of Cheng’s translation of the work Tranquility Is Beyond Price, stopping short of identifying her as Li’s wife.
Cheng was last seen in public in November last year when she accompanied her husband on a visit to Cambodia.
With Li set to step down from his position, Cheng will no doubt embrace a new life with her less-busy husband.
This could well be good news for family-oriented Cheng.
While visiting Nigeria in 2014, the wife of the Nigerian president proposed to Cheng and the wives of other countries’ leaders that the women should “leave the kitchen”.
Cheng responded: “I am a university professor and this is my profession. I love teaching and reading. But I also love cooking at home for my husband and my daughter. These two things can be combined perfectly.”
