China’s go-to man on US trade to take on the Communist Party’s top job on Taiwan and Tibet
Vice-Premier Wang Yang’s appearance at key party gathering comes as China’s activities overseas come under greater scrutiny
China's point man on Sino-US trade ties is set to move on to be the country’s top political adviser and take direct charge of the Communist Party’s public engagement campaigns.
The appearance of Wang Yang, 63, at a national party gathering on engaging non-party sections of society is the latest sign that the former Chinese representative in high-level economic talks with the United States will take up the outreach portfolio.
It also comes as China’s activities abroad are under greater scrutiny from the West.
Just months after he was elevated to the seven-man party inner sanctum – the Politburo Standing Committee – Wang hosted a meeting of chiefs of the local branches of the United Front Work Department on Tuesday, state media reported.
The party’s united front system is responsible for engaging China’s non-party elites at home and abroad and is under the leadership of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top political advisory body.
The annual national gathering of the department’s chiefs is usually chaired by the head of the CPPCC, a role that Wang’s appearance on Tuesday suggests he could assume at the government reshuffle in March, succeeding the retiring chairman Yu Zhengsheng.
