Qin Gang has been removed from his post as Chinese Foreign Minister.
The head of the Chinese foreign policy department will again be Wang Yi, who currently heads the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
This decision was made on July 25 by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
According to the news agency, at the 4th session of the Standing Committee of the NPC of the 14th convocation, as a result of a vote, it was decided to remove Qin Gang from the post of head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and appoint Wang Yi to this post.
Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a corresponding decree. The reasons for the personnel changes in the Chinese Foreign Ministry have not been reported.
Wang Yi headed the Chinese Foreign Ministry from 2013 to 2022. Before that, in 2008-2013, he served as head of the Taiwan Affairs Office at the State Council of China, and in 2004-2007 – ambassador to Japan.
“Disappearance” of Qin Gang
The topic of Qin Gang’s “disappearance” began to circulate in the Western press after the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on July 11 that the head of the department would not be able to take part in the meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, which was held in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, for health reasons. Then, instead of Qin Gang, China was represented at the meeting by Wang Yi.
Since then, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has not provided any additional information about Qin Gang’s health and whereabouts, although media representatives have repeatedly asked questions about this at briefings.
Qin Gang has held various diplomatic positions since 1988, including ambassador to Great Britain in 2010-2011.
In 2018-2021 he served as deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in July 2021 he was appointed US Ambassador. He took charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 30 last year.
