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Qian Qichen

Qian Qichen (1928.1.5-), Vice Premier (1993.3-), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1988.4 –1998.3), People's Republic of China

Born in Jiading, Shanghai, Qian Qichen joined the Communist Party of China in 1942 and was engaged in the students' underground movement of the Communist Party in Shanghai, first as member and then as secretary of the underground Party Committee of Middle School Section in Shanghai. From 1945 to 1949, he was staff of Dagong Bao (L'impartial). From 1949 to 1953, he was member of the Party Committees and Secretary of the Communist Youth League Committees of the Xuhui, Changning, and Yangpu Districts of Shanghai. From 1953 to 1954, he did research work in the General Office of Central Committee of the Communist Youth League. In 1954, he went to Central Communist Youth League School in the Soviet Union to pursue studies. After 1955, he successively served as Second Secretary in the Chinese Embassy in the Soviet Union, Director of Department of Overseas Chinese Students and Deputy Director General of the Foreign Department of the Ministry of Higher Education, Counsellor in the Chinese Embassy in the Soviet Union (1972.4 – 1974.4), Ambassador to Guinea (1974.8 – 1976.11) and Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau concurrently (1974.9 – 1975.10), Director General of Information Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1976.11 – 1982.4), Vice Foreign Minister (1982.4 – 1988.4), Foreign Minister (1988.4 – 1998.3), State Councilor and Foreign Minister concurrently (1991.4 – 1993.3), Vice Premier and Foreign Minister concurrently (1993.3 – 1998.3), Member of the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Member of Political Bureau of the 14th and 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. During his foreign minister tenure, he made visits to one hundred odd countries. From 1982 to 1987, in the capacity of Special Envoy of the Chinese Government, he attended 11 rounds of talks on the normalization of the diplomatic relations between China and the Soviet Union at the level of vice foreign minister. In February and August 1987, in the capacity of head of the Chinese delegation, he conducted two rounds of boundary negotiations with the Soviet Union. In December 1988 and February 1989, he exchanged visits with the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union to conduct talks for the purpose of the summit meeting between the two countries and the normalization of diplomatic relation. In May 1991, he signed the Agreement on the Eastern Section of the Boundary between China and the Soviet Union jointly with the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union in Moscow. From 1992 to 1997, he made four visits to Russia as Foreign Minister. In September 1994, he signed the Agreement on the Western Section of the Boundary between China and Russia jointly with the Russian Foreign Minister in Moscow. In the 1990s, he met several times with the State Secretary of the United States for talks on the Sino-US relationship and significant international issues. In November 1990, October 1994 and April 1997, he made official visits to the US. After 1989, he made visits to twelve countries including Germany, France, UK, Japan and the European Community, either leading the Chinese delegation or accompanying the government and Party leaders, so that the relationship between China and the Western countries was ushered into a new stage after a period of tortuosity. In 1991, when he was visiting Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, he proposed the principle of transcending differences in social system, ideology, and values to develop normal state relations on the basis of five principles of peaceful co-existence. The international conferences that he attended in the capacity of head of the Chinese delegation include 10 sessions of UN General Assembly (from 43rd to 52nd), the Ministerial Meeting of the UN Security Council, the ASEAN Foreign Minister Meetings (from 24th to 28th), the First Meeting of ASEAN Regional Forum, the APEC Ministerial Meetings (from 3rd to 9th), the Conference of Heads of States or Governments of Non-aligned Movement, and the UN Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction. In February and March 1996, he attended the Asian Foreign Ministers' Meeting of ASEM and ASEM 1. From the end of March to April, he paid visits to six countries including Japan. In July of the year, for the first time he attended the meeting between ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners on behalf of China as an ASEAN dialogue partner, and the 3rd ASEAN Regional Forum Meeting. At the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting of the year, ASEAN officially accepted China as its comprehensive dialogue partner. In September of the year, he led a delegation to visit Canada. In 1997, he visited 14 countries including France, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, and South Africa. In February of the same year, he attended the ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting. In July, he attended the ARF Ministerial Meeting and the Meeting between ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners. From January to July 1998, he paid visits to ten countries including Morocco and Cuba. The significant diplomatic documents he signed on behalf of China include the Communiqué Concerning Restoration of Sino-Indonesian Diplomatic Relations, Communiqués on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Brunei, Israel, Korea and South Africa, the Agreement on Reciprocal Establishment of Consulate General between China and Norway, the Agreement on Mutual Establishment of Office of Commercial Development between China and Haiti, the Agreement between the Governments of China and the Soviet Union on the Guiding Principles of Mutual Reduction of Military Forces along the Border Areas between the Two Countries and Enhancing Trust in the Military Fields, Agreement on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict and the UN Convention on the Prevention of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction. In July 1993, he assumed the position of chief of working committee of the Preparatory Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In January 1996, he served as Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the National People's Congress. He summoned eight plenary meetings of the Preparatory Committee of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in order to create favorable conditions and lay a solid foundation for the implementation of the policies of "one China, two systems," "Hong Kong People administering Hong Kong," and a maximum degree of Autonomy. In 1997, in the capacity of member of the Chinese government delegation, Vice Premier and Foreign Minister concurrently, he went to Hong Kong to observe the ceremony of the handover of Hong Kong. In April 1998, he was appointed member of the Preparatory Committee of the National People's Congress for Macao Special Administrative Region.

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