Again with the assistance of Zhu Rongji, Wang served as secretary-general of the State Council from March 1998 to March 2003, during which time he was appointed president of the National School of Administration (now the "Academy of Governance"), helped revamp the administration of the One Child Policy, served as the head of the leading group that oversaw China's 5th national census, and sat as a member of the steering committee that oversaw the 2001 APEC summits around China. In 1999, he also participated in the transfer of Macao from Portuguese to Chinese control. From 5 March 2003 to 5 March 2008, he was vice-chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference. In 2005, he headed a Chinese diplomatic mission to Ghana from May 31 to June 2. He served as president of the International Association of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions from 2005 to 2007.