Wang Qishan
In September 2017, Thornton helped arrange a meeting between Steve Bannon and Wang Qishan, Thornton’s friend and former head of the China Construction Bank and the current Vice President of the People’s Republic of China, at the Communist Party’s Zhongnanhai headquarters a few weeks after Bannon was forced out of his advisory role in President Donald Trump’s administration. Bannon, also a former Goldman employee, has described Thornton as a friend and mentor.