The Chinese government has removed Qin Gang from the post of foreign minister and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi, according to state media.
“China’s top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister … as it convened a session on Tuesday,” the Xinhua news agency reported. “Qin Gang was removed from the post of foreign minister.”
The announcement came a month after Qin’s last public appearance.
During the national evening news, state broadcaster CCTV gave no reason for Qin’s removal.
Adding to the mystery around Qin’s removal, it was approved at a meeting of the Standing Committee of China’s rubber-stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress, which usually gathers at the end of the month.
A sudden disappearance from the public eye
The 57-year-old, who was made foreign minister in December, has not been seen in public since June 25, when he held talks with counterparts from Russia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
Qin’s final appearance in state media was a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, who visited Beijing less than 48 hours after the Wagner mercenary group’s abortive rebellion against Moscow’s top military brass.
China then cancelled talks between Qin and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on July 4 without explanation.
Qin subsequently missed high-level meetings with United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and US climate envoy John Kerry.
Source: Aljazeera.com
