Meet the Chinese VP Who is Fast Becoming a Major Player in Beijing’s Diplomacy

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meeting with high-level officials from Malaysia (top left), Singapore (center right), the United States (top right), Bhutan (lower left) and South Africa (lower right).

The role of a Chinese vice president, like their U.S. counterpart, has largely been ceremonial, particularly in the diplomatic sphere where the Director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and the Foreign Minister (now a combined role) have traditionally been the most prominent envoys.

That seems to be changing now as evidenced by the heightened visibility in recent months of Vice President Han Zheng.

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by Eric Olander

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