Foreign Minister Wang Yi is a rising star in the Chinese establishment. During the March annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament, he was also appointed as State Councillor on Foreign Affairs in the State Council, China’s cabinet, a prestigious elevation. His predecessor, Yang Jiechi, as State Councillor was China’s top troubleshooter in its ties with major countries including the U.S., Japan and India. Mr. Wang already seems to be fitting into that role, evident from his recent high-flying visit to North Korea.
What is the India connect?
It has now been confirmed that Mr. Wang will succeed Mr. Yang as China’s Special Representative (SR) in the border talks with India. Mr. Wang is an Asia specialist, with a deep knowledge of Japan. In fact, his initiation at university into Japanese culture and language, which he now speaks like a native, sketched his career path in diplomacy, which he chose over a lifetime in academics. The Indian establishment, including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, warmly congratulated Mr. Wang on his elevation as State Councillor and SR. But in the past, Indian officials did have some apprehensions about Mr. Wang’s disposition to New Delhi. “In fact, one of his earlier meetings with Ms. Swaraj had a rocky start,” a senior official told The Hindu . Mr. Wang was also seen as a “hard-liner” during the 72-day Doklam military stand-off last year. But the Chinese diplomat, an intense man with sharp focus, is known for his stand-out professionalism. His visit to New Delhi in December gave a big push to the revival of the post-Doklam ties, culminating in the Wuhan summit. By March, when Mr. Wang addressed his marathon annual press conference, as part of a ritual at the National People’s Congress, he spoke in glowing terms about the future of India-China ties. He famously said: “If China and India are united, one plus one will not only include two, but also 11.”
How did he rise up the ranks?
Mr. Wang acquires his status from his position within the Communist Party of China (CPC). He is a member of the Central Committee, two rungs below the apex seven-member standing committee of the Politburo, and the 25-member Politburo. Significantly, he is also the member of the party’s highly influential and composite Leading Group on Foreign Affairs that is headed by President Xi Jinping.
Mr. Wang is not a “princeling,” a scion of the first generation of CPC leaders headed by Mao Zedong. But he is the son-in-law of a former secretary of first Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, which gave him a privileged personal status within the Chinese elite. Otherwise, like many of the compatriots of his generation, including Mr. Xi, Mr. Wang’s strong and independent-minded personality has been shaped by difficult circumstances. Like most of his contemporaries, he was “sent down,” as a young man during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, to the countryside. For eight long years, he worked at Heilongjiang Production and Construction Corps. This was in Inner Mongolia, known for its Siberia-style freezing winters.
By the end of the Cultural Revolution, he was back in the Chinese capital, enrolling at Beijing International Studies University in 1978. These were the defining years of his life. A WeChat social media blog highlights that at university, Mr. Wang showed a flair for writing and literature, culminating in two graduation dissertations. One of them compared Japanese and Chinese poems, and the other was about Chinese and Japanese history.
Will it help reset ties?
Mr. Wang’s appointment as SR could not be better timed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Xi have just concluded two-day talks at Wuhan. That has set the stage for detailed and fruitful negotiations on the border question, and more. However, since the 1950s, the bilateral ties have had several false starts. Post-Wuhan, the challenge is to counter influential vested interests and pressure groups in both countries, who are implacably opposed to a solid and forward looking partnership.
