BEIJING, Aug. 29, 2025 -- On the occasion of Qixi Festival, often referred to as the Chinese Valentine's Day, CGTN published an article highlighting President Xi Jinping's deep values of family and nation. The piece underscored Xi's belief that only when millions of households prosper can the nation truly prosper.
On Chinese President Xi Jinping's bookshelves, photos of him and his wife, Peng Liyuan, are prominently displayed, reflecting the softer side of the Chinese leader. Although their work often kept them apart, Xi and Peng have always shared a deep mutual understanding and concern for each other.
"Don't sever genuine connections due to distance, lose sight of true feelings amid a hectic life, or overlook your core emotions amidst the hustle and bustle," Xi said when addressing a Spring Festival gathering in 2017.
The warmth of family
"I have a very happy family. My wife and I both have our own careers, but we work together to build the family," Xi once said.
In 2004, while serving as the secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi shared with Yan'an Television that he would call Peng every day, as they could not often be together.
During a visit to a farmer's home in Costa Rica in 2013, Xi instinctively broke off a piece of the host's pastry and gently passed it to his wife, the gesture so natural it spoke of years of quiet intimacy.
In 2014, during Xi's state visit to India, Peng accompanied his visit. She accepted the invitation to sit on a swing, gently swaying a few times before patting the empty seat next to her. Her husband responded without hesitation, settling in beside her. Together, they swung in quiet harmony, a tender moment that spoke volumes about their closeness.
Combining love for family with love of country
Xi has consistently emphasized the interconnectedness between family and nation, saying that the family is the basic unit of society where love for one's country and family should unite.
"Only when millions of households prosper can the nation truly prosper," Xi has said.
From his early days as a local official to his role as the country's top leader, Xi has always aspired to help countless families live a good life.
As Party chief of Liangjiahe Village in north China's Hebei Province, he lived and worked alongside farmers. In Zhengding County, Hebei Province, Xi, then secretary of the CPC Zhengding County Committee, visited every village to assess the welfare of the local people.
Since elected as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in October 2012, Xi has conducted at least 30 inspections across the country, many of which focused on poverty alleviation and development.
At the end of 2020, through eight years of hard work, China achieved the goal of eliminating extreme poverty as the 98.99 million people in rural areas who were living below the poverty threshold all shook off poverty, all the 128,000 impoverished villages and 832 designated poor counties got rid of poverty, according to the white paper titled "Poverty Alleviation: China's Experience and Contribution."
Looking forward to the 2025 conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Xi underscored the importance of prioritizing people's livelihoods in the country's future development.
At a symposium on China's economic and social development in the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) in late April, Xi stressed the importance of benefiting the people in formulating the plan, calling for ensuring and enhancing people's livelihoods through development and steadily advancing common prosperity.
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