customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Jun Mai

Wendy Wu

Vice-President Wang Qishan – who is known as China’s “firefighter” for taking on the tough jobs – said his main task now was “ceremonial diplomacy”, amid speculation that he has played a behind-the-scenes role in trade negotiations with Washington.
Wang made the remarks on Monday when he met Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary, who was on an official visit to Beijing, according to Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television.
“After 13 years, you’ve become more mature and I’ve become old,” Wang told Ebrard, recalling their meeting in 2006 when Wang was mayor of Beijing and Ebrard was a Mexico City mayoral candidate.
“You are now in charge of diplomacy, and I’m responsible for helping the president [Xi Jinping] with some ceremonial diplomacy,” Wang said.

Wang, 71, has not taken a public role in the year-long trade conflict between China and the US, despite his experience handling a wide range of issues – including helping to fend off the impact of the 2008 financial crisis. He also has experience dealing with Washington as a vice-premier, when he oversaw financial affairs and economic ties with the US.
During that time, he became familiar with a number of American business and political leaders, especially those with a Wall Street background, including Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary in the George W. Bush administration.
He has continued to meet business leaders and former foreign officials – although not all of those meetings are made public – since he stepped down from the Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee in 2017 and became vice-president last year.
Among those Wang has met recently is Apple chief executive Tim Cook, who sits on the advisory board of prestigious Tsinghua University’s economics and management school.
He also met Derek Scissors, an economist with Washington-based think tank the American Enterprise Institute, when he visited Beijing last year. Scissors, who has in the past discussed China policy with the White House, said he had met Wang and some Politburo members during the trip.

After meeting Wang last year, Kurt Campbell, former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs under Barack Obama, said Wang was “still quite relevant”.
He also said Beijing had wanted Wang to negotiate with US Vice-President Mike Pence.
“It looks like they are trying to match him up with Vice-President Pence to play some sort of role that will precede ultimate presentation of issues to President Xi and [US leader Donald] Trump,” Campbell said at an event in Washington in October following a trip to Beijing.
“But that hasn’t played out, I think largely because our administration has signalled that it’s not how we’re going to use our vice-president,” he said. “But he’s still quite relevant and plays a quiet role on the economic side.”
Could Wang Qishan be the new face of Chinese pragmatism?
Bloomberg reported last month that China had tried to schedule a call between Wang and Pence in early June. Washington declined the request, the report said, citing three anonymous sources.
Beijing did not make public Wang’s meetings with Scissors and Campbell.
Meanwhile, a Chinese government source, who requested anonymity, told the South China Morning Post that Wang had been asked to play a role in US issues, but he was reluctant to do so because of the difficulties involved.




Wang’s remarks on Monday followed talks between Xi and Trump on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday, when they agreed to a temporary truce in the trade war and to restart talks. Trump agreed to put on hold additional tariffs on Chinese imports as well as to lift a ban on US companies supplying parts to telecoms firm Huawei Technologies, but analysts said that a trade deal is still far from certain.


Brazil’s Lula puts ‘biggest trading partner’ China among first official visits

China arrests Tian Huiyu, disgraced former CMB president, following Xi Jinping’s pledge of zero tolerance for corruption

Chance for stability in aftermath of China hawk Liz Truss, analyst says

Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan heads to Kazakhstan, and may miss party congress

Wang Qishan

Is ‘firefighter’ Wang Qishan working behind the scenes on trade talks?

Wang Qishan, 71, has not taken a public role in the trade war between China and the US. Photo: AP

China's Vice Premier Wang Qishan (L) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson smile as they walk together at the Strategic Economic Dialogue at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland June 18, 2008. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES)

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, right, speaks with Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard during a meeting at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing, Monday, July 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool)

Despite Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s G20 handshake, mistrust and disputes persist in US-China trade war

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, fifth from right, during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

TOPSHOT - China's President Xi Jinping (R) greets US President Donald Trump before a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 29, 2019. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during his meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

China’s exporters welcome trade war truce, but worry about long-term outlook

US President Donald Trump, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China's President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka. Photo: AFP

Founder of Unit Bricks Timothy Stuart photographed at his home in Lantau. 24OCT18 [FEATURES] SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Manufacturers in China are anxious about the volatility of the situation and uncertainty over how solid the trade war truce is. Photo: Xinhua

News

China

Politics

Diplomacy

Chinese vice-president tells visiting Mexican foreign affairs secretary that his main task now is helping Xi Jinping with ‘ceremonial diplomacy’
There is speculation he has played a quiet role in negotiations with Washington given his experience in dealing with the US


Chinese vice-president tells visiting Mexican foreign affairs secretary that his main task now is helping Xi Jinping with ‘ceremonial diplomacy’.


US-China relations

US-China trade war

US-China trade war: All stories

US-China tech war

Is ‘firefighter’ Wang Qishan working behind the scenes on trade talks?

Chinese vice-president tells visiting Mexican foreign affairs secretary that his main task now is helping Xi Jinping with ‘ceremonial diplomacy’ There is speculation he has played a quiet role in negotiations with Washington given his experience in dealing with the US

Chinese vice-president tells visiting Mexican foreign affairs secretary that his main task now is helping Xi Jinping with ‘ceremonial diplomacy’

There is speculation he has played a quiet role in negotiations with Washington given his experience in dealing with the US