China’s Foreign Minister Replaced After Unexplained Absence
Qin Gang is removed months after Xi Jinping promoted him to head the Foreign Ministry Wang Yi, center, returns to a job he exited at the end of last year. Photo: Florence Lo/Pool Reuters/Associated Press By Chun Han Wong Updated July 25, 2023 7:46 am ET SINGAPORE—China replaced Foreign Minister Qin Gang, whose mysterious disappearance from the public stage weeks ago sent a wave of uncertainty through the country’s political system. China hasn’t explained the disappearance of Qin, originally handpicked for the job by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, except to cite vague health issues. At a hastily convened session on Tuesday, the Chinese legislature’s standing committee decided that Wang Yi, the former foreign minister and currently China’s top diplomat, would retake his old post. The la
Wang Yi, center, returns to a job he exited at the end of last year.
Photo: Florence Lo/Pool Reuters/Associated Press
SINGAPORE—China replaced Foreign Minister Qin Gang, whose mysterious disappearance from the public stage weeks ago sent a wave of uncertainty through the country’s political system.
China hasn’t explained the disappearance of Qin, originally handpicked for the job by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, except to cite vague health issues. At a hastily convened session on Tuesday, the Chinese legislature’s standing committee decided that Wang Yi, the former foreign minister and currently China’s top diplomat, would retake his old post.
The lawmakers didn’t provide a reason for their decision to remove the 57-year-old Qin, who became foreign minister in December. His absence from major diplomatic engagements since late June had fueled speculation inside and outside China about what happened to him and cast a global spotlight on the country’s black-box political system.
China’s Foreign Ministry previously cited health reasons for Qin’s absence from a regional diplomatic meeting in Indonesia this month.
The prolonged disappearance of China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang has led to speculation over his whereabouts. Qin’s absence highlights the lack of transparency in the governance of the world’s second-largest economy. Photo: Noel Celis/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Wang, a 69-year-old member of the Communist Party’s elite 24-member Politburo, previously served as foreign minister from early 2013 until December last year. He became China’s top diplomat when he joined the Politburo in October as its leading foreign-affairs specialist.
State media reports didn’t mention any change to Wang’s existing party roles, suggesting he would occupy both his Politburo and Foreign Ministry positions concurrently—an arrangement that had typically taken place during a transition period between officeholders.
Tuesday’s session of the National People’s Congress standing committee was arranged just a day in advance, an unusually short notice, and outside the typical two-month cycle for regular standing committee sessions. The decision to convene the session came on the same day as a meeting of the Communist Party’s Politburo—spurring speculation that lawmakers would confirm personnel changes that Xi and other party leaders approved Monday.
State media readouts from Tuesday’s legislative session didn’t mention any change to Qin’s role as state councilor, a senior government rank in China’s cabinet. It wasn’t clear if Qin would retain his seat on the party’s Central Committee, of which he became a full member in October.
(Article to update as news develops.)
Write to Chun Han Wong at [email protected]
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