Chief Executive Mark Jenkins flies to China for meeting with Guochuan Lai and sponsors Palm

Jenkins will speak at Palm’s annual general meeting this week before returning to watch Saturday’s match with Leicester at The Hawthorns.

Albion were always due to send a representative to the meeting and Jenkins’s appearance has nothing to do with head coach Alan Pardew’s current position.

Pardew is under pressure following six straight defeats, but he will be in charge for the Leicester game.

The board considered his position over the weekend and decided to keep hold of him due to an improved displays at Watford and a lack of credible alternatives.

Despite the poor results, it is believed that keeping Pardew as head coach for now is best for the long-term future of the club.

Jenkins was chief executive under former owner Jeremy Peace but he left the club after 14 years at the start of 2016 following Lai’s takeover because he believed it was a natural parting of the ways.

However, Lai urged him to stay and Jenkins returned last month when the owner sacked chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman.

Palm is an eco-town company in China affiliated with Lai and they are Albion’s main sponsors.

As well as sponsoring the shirt for an estimated £3m per year, they sponsor the club’s Walsall training ground too.