China foreign minister's new ride: the Mao Zedong-approved limousine

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A photo of the new Red Flag H7 is posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affair's microblog. Photo: Screenshot via Sina Weibo

Published: 11:15am, 18 Jun 2013Updated: 4:13am, 29 Aug 2013

China's foreign minister has a new ride. In a ministerial first in more than three decades, Wang Yi has chosen a locally manufactured Red Flag limousine, the same brand Mao Zedong rode to inspect parades.

"Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi's official car is a Red Flag H7 sedan," the ministry wrote in a microblog post, which showed an image of the newly developed vehicle. Wang's previous official car was a foreign brand.

The Red Flag H7 entered the market only three weeks ago, on May 30. Manufacturer China FAW invested 5.2 billion yuan (HK$6.6 billion) over four years to recreate Mao's car brand of choice, according to China News Service.

State leaders from the great helmsman to Hu Jintao have used old-fashioned Red Flag limousines to inspect the troops and parades. Mao famously had a spittoon installed in his.

The old cadre-limousines were known for their high fuel consumption and maintenance costs. The new H7 luxury sedan features either 3- or 2.5-litre, six-cylinder engines and costs about 300,000 yuan, but doubts about the car's quality persist.

"The foreign minister uses such a faulty car! What an embarrassment to the celestial dynasty!" commented one person on the ministry's weibo post. "Provincial, city and even county leaders all drive Volkswagen off-roaders or Audis, and you just get this one."

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