Her China visit has been seen as a prelude to an upcoming meeting between Xi and Obama at a nuclear security summit in The Hague, when more thorny issues would be raised.
“She also made history as the first U.S. first lady to visit China independently,” Teng said.
Aides for Mrs. Obama have said the first lady is staying away from contentious issues but promote education and people-to-people exchanges during the seven-day, three-city visit.
Earlier in the day, Mrs. Obama excited students who were building robots and tried her hand at Chinese calligraphy at the Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal
University in central Beijing.
The elite school has 33 American exchange students, and some of its Chinese students aspire to study in the United States.
In a calligraphy class set up for Mrs. Obama's visit, the first lady practiced writing the Chinese character for “eternal” under the guidance of 16-year-old student Lu Yuhong.
“I'm nervous,” Mrs. Obama said. “Don't be nervous,” Peng replied in English.
Lu said he too was nervous, as well as “very excited.”
“But the first lady was so amicable. She was very approachable,” Lu said.
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