Former Chinese vice premier who oversaw handover of Hong Kong to China dies at 90
The former Chinese vice premier and top diplomat who oversaw the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China has died in Beijing at 90, state media announced Wednesday.
Citing an official statement, the New China News Agency said Qian Qichen died of an unspecified illness late Tuesday.
The Shanghai-born veteran diplomat was chairman of a committee China appointed to prepare for Hong Kong’s change of sovereignty in 1997.
Qian was also the country’s top foreign affairs official in 2001 when relations with the United States took a steep downturn after a U.S. Navy surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea. The Chinese plane crashed, killing the pilot.
Qian’s diplomatic career started in 1955 when he worked in the Chinese Embassy in Moscow, returning home in 1963.
The news agency said Qian, who spoke English and Russian, was “an outstanding leader in diplomacy of the country.”
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