Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan Attends Korean President's Inauguration Ceremony as Xi Jinping's Special Envoy

Wang Qishan, Vice President of China [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Wang Qishan, Vice President of China, will attend the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on the 10th as a special representative of President Xi Jinping.

According to the Global Times on the 6th, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at the regular briefing that "in response to the request of the Korean government, Vice President Wang Qishan, as President Xi's special representative, will lead a delegation to visit Korea and attend the inauguration ceremony."

Spokesperson Zhao added, "China and South Korea are close neighbors and important cooperation partners," and expressed hope that "the friendly cooperation between the two countries will continuously improve to a higher level and that China-South Korea relations will continuously develop."

Vice President Wang ranks immediately after the Standing Committee members of the Communist Party Central Political Bureau, which is the top leadership of China, including President Xi.

His rank is higher than Tang Jiaxuan, then State Councilor in charge of foreign affairs, who attended President Lee Myung-bak's inauguration in 2008, and Liu Yandong, then member of the Communist Party Political Bureau and State Councilor in charge of education, culture, and science, who attended President Park Geun-hye's inauguration in 2013. However, he ranks one level below Han Zheng, Deputy Premier and member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee, who visited Korea during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

As Vice President, Wang also supported President Xi's diplomacy from the sidelines, such as attending Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony in October 2019.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.