BEIJING: According to state media, the Chinese government removed Qin Gang from the position of foreign minister and reinstated his predecessor, Wang Yi.
The appointment of Wang Yi was voted upon by China’s top legislature, as reported by Xinhua news agency. Qin Gang was officially removed from the role of foreign minister.
The announcement was made a month after Qin’s last public appearance. The 57-year-old became foreign minister in December. He hasn’t been seen in public since June 25, when he held talks with representatives from Russia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.
Qin’s last appearance in state media was during a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. This meeting took place in Beijing, shortly after the Wagner mercenary group’s unsuccessful rebellion against Moscow’s top military officials.
On July 4, China canceled talks between Qin and the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell without providing an explanation.
Subsequently, Qin also missed high-level meetings with United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and US climate envoy John Kerry.
China’s foreign ministry later cited “health reasons” for Qin’s inability to attend an ASEAN summit in Jakarta. His mysterious absence has led to speculation that he may have fallen out of favor with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership.
He served in the Chinese government since the late 1980s, mainly in roles related to foreign affairs. Qin was considered a close confidant of Chinese President Xi Jinping and a rising star within the CCP.
In recent times, he was seen as a prominent example of Beijing’s shift towards assertive “wolf warrior” diplomacy. Notably, a number of high-profile figures in China have disappeared for extended periods without any explanation in recent years.
