China announced that it will send a vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC), which is equivalent to South Korea's National Assembly, to attend the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in a briefing on July 2 that "He Wei, Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, will represent China at the funeral of Supreme Leader Khamenei, which will be held in Tehran on July 3."
Vice Chairman He currently serves as the chairman of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, one of China's eight minor political parties, and also holds positions as the president of the Red Cross Society of China and vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification. He has been one of the 14 vice chairmen of the NPC since 2023.
Ayatollah Khamenei passed away at the age of 86 on February 28, the first day of the war, following bombings by the United States and Israel.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)