Beijing's cultural scene took center stage this week as Peng Liyuan, spouse of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, visited the Beijing People's Art Theatre on December 5, 2025. The diplomatic spouses explored the theater's rich history of Franco-Chinese artistic collaboration during Macron's state visit to China.
Accompanied by theater directors, the pair examined the iconic Teahouse stage set – the same production that made history at France's Festival d'Avignon in 2019. Olivier Py, then festival director, had hailed the performance as "one of the best productions I've ever seen," cementing its status as a bridge between Eastern and Western theatrical traditions.
The visit highlighted ongoing cultural exchanges, including last year's acclaimed Chinese adaptation of Molière's The Miser. This October, the theater presented Jean Genet's seminal French work Les Paravents in its first complete Chinese staging – a production now being studied as part of the theater's international programming.
"Artistic dialogue remains vital to our global understanding," remarked BPAT Artistic Director Tang Huo, noting that 40% of the theater's international collaborations now involve French partners. With bilateral cultural exchanges growing 15% annually since 2020, such high-profile visits underscore the enduring soft power of theatrical diplomacy.
