Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan expected to attend Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral, diplomatic sources say
- Wang Qishan is expected to arrive in London on Sunday, a day before the funeral
- Xinhua earlier reported he had signed a condolence book for late monarch at British embassy
Wang is expected to arrive in the British capital on Sunday, a day before the funeral at Westminster Abbey, which is likely to be attended by hundreds of foreign dignitaries.
His trip would be the latest by Chinese state leaders who had started to head overseas for diplomatic visits after spending most of the past three years at home as the country followed a “dynamic-zero” Covid-19 strategy, one expert on Thursday said.
State news agency Xinhua earlier reported that Wang signed a condolence book for the late monarch at the British embassy in Beijing on Monday and observed a moment in silence in front of her portrait. A source told the Post the vice-president also spent a short time at a tree the queen had planted in Beijing during her visit in the 1980s.
Xinhua has not yet confirmed whether Beijing will send representatives to the queen’s funeral, but the foreign ministry on Wednesday said China was “actively considering” sending a high-level delegation to the queen’s funeral. The Post has reached out to the Chinese embassy in London for comment.
