What’s new: Qin Gang has been removed as China foreign minister and replaced by his immediate predecessor Wang Yi, the country’s top legislature announced Tuesday.
The announcement was made during a meeting of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. The report did not elaborate on why Qin was removed.
Qin was last seen in public during meetings with senior diplomats from Russia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka on June 25, according to statements published on the foreign ministry’s website.
Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China, has been in Johannesburg, South Africa since Monday, attending the 13th Meeting of the Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa (BRICS) National Security Advisers in his capacity as the party’s top diplomat.
The background: Qin, 57, was named China’s foreign minister at the end of last year, replacing Wang. Qin previously served as China’s ambassador to Washington from July 2021 to December 2022.
Wang is a seasoned diplomat who was China’s foreign minister from 2013 to 2022 prior to being named the party’s foreign affairs commission office director. The 69-year-old once served as China’s ambassador to Japan in the 2000s as well as director of the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office from 2008 to 2013.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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