Younger Xi goes on the record about wife

President Xi Jinping's younger brother revealed publicly yesterday for the first time that the woman once dubbed the "military's first beauty" and who vanished from the limelight six years ago was his wife.

The revelation came in a rare full-page article Xi Yuanping penned for the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Daily about his family to commemorate the 101st birthday of their late father Xi Zhongxun .

Analysts said Xi Yuanping's article was the first attempt to set the record straight about Zhang Lanlan, who had been the subject of the rumour mill.

Zhang, 34, was a popular actress, singer and television compere on the mainland. Born to a working-class family in Chongqing , she was recruited by a People's Liberation Army choir when she was 15.

Xi aimed to tell the public he and Zhang were a good couple, just like President Xi and Peng Liyuan , a famous PLA singer. "It seems Xi Yuanping wanted to present a wholesome image of the entire Xi family ahead of the Communist Party's fourth plenary session next week," said Chen Daoyin , an associate professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

"Besides building a strong army and a rich country, Xi's other goal is to boost moral education under the influence of Confucianism, which highlights the family and 'self-cultivation' ."

It is not the first time Xi Yuanping has written about his family. Last year, he wrote for China Youth Daily about his father's influence on him.