China’s ‘outstanding’ former top diplomat Qian Qichen dies, aged 89

China’s former foreign minister and vice-premier Qian Qichen, who played a critical role in handling Hong Kong and Macau’s return to Chinese sovereignty and Beijing’s efforts to normalise relations with the West after 1989, died in Beijing in Tuesday night, according to a government statement yesterday.

Qian, 89, a top Chinese diplomat between 1993 and 2003, was praised as “an excellent Communist Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, a proletarian revolutionist, and an outstanding diplomat”, according to the brief official release.

Qian’s death comes just a few weeks before the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty on July 1. He was personally in charge of the return of the city and Macau to China, in 1997 and 1999 respectively.

Qian was appointed chair of both the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 1995 and Macau SAR Preparatory Committee in April, 1998 respectively.

David Wilson, who was the British governor of Hong Kong when Qian negotiated the city’s future, told the South China Morning Post: “I am very sorry to hear of the death of Mr Qian. He was a very good foreign minister.”