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China’s vice president, Wang Qishan, will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, the foreign ministry said Saturday, following a diplomatic row that prevented Chinese officials from visiting the late monarch’s coffin.
Wang Qishan, President Xi Jinping’s special representative, will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s burial on September 19 in London at the invitation of the UK government, according to a statement by foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning.
Britain’s first state funeral in in 60 years will honour the Queen on Monday. Over 2,000 people are anticipated during the Westminster Abbey service.
Wang’s attendance comes after an official Chinese delegation was barred from attending the Queen’s lying-in-state following an intervention by House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, according to parliamentary sources.
The snub came after China sanctioned several British lawmakers for criticising China’s human rights record, prompting a rebuke from Mao, who said in a press conference on Friday that the UK “should uphold both diplomatic courtesy and gracious hospitality.”
