Addis Ababa, July 25, 2023 (FBC) – China’s top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister, replacing Qin Gang, as it convened a session on Tuesday, according to People’s Daily, China.
Announcement by state media comes a month after Qin Gang’s last public appearance, with his predecessor Wang Yi taking his place.
The Chinese government has removed Qin Gang from the post of foreign minister and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi, according to the 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.
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.
China’s foreign ministry later also said Qin could not attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Jakarta for “health reasons”.
The Tianjin native has served in the Chinese government since the late 1980s, mostly in roles related to foreign affairs.
Qin was regarded as a close confidant of Chinese President Xi Jinping and viewed as a rising star within the CCP.
In recent years, he was seen as exemplifying Beijing’s turn towards aggressive so-called “wolf warrior” diplomacy.
A number of high-profile figures in China have gone missing for prolonged periods without explanation in recent years.