Former Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen dies at 89: Xinhua

Former Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen, a long-serving diplomat who played a major role in shaping foreign policy in the era of Jiang Zemin's leadership, has died of illness, official media reported Wednesday. He was 89.Qian, China's foreign minister from 1988 to 1998 and vice premier for a decade from 1993, died Tuesday night in Beijing, Xinhua News Agency said.The Shanghai native, who was born on Jan. 5, 1928, joined the Communist Party in 1942 and started his diplomatic career in the 1950s in Moscow.Fluent in Russian, Qian was in charge of negotiations on borders between China and the S…READ FULL ARTICLE