China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang was replaced by his predecessor Wang Yi on Tuesday, official media said, ending weeks of mystery about his whereabouts. Qin Gang had been absent from public duties for the past month.
Since June 25, when he met visiting diplomats in Beijing, Qin, 57, who only took up the role in December following a brief stint as envoy to the United States, had not been seen in public.
His ministry later said he was absent from work due to health issues, but the absence of specifics fueled a whirlwind of suspicion after he failed to show up to an international diplomatic summit in Indonesia.
Analysts and diplomats agreed that it increased skepticism about the country’s secretive leadership’s openness and ability to make decisions.
Wang, 69, will again serve as Qin’s replacement between the years 2018 and 2022.
When asked for an explanation, the Chinese foreign ministry did not provide one.
The Chinese government has labeled relations with the United States as “at their lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations,” and this comes amid a rush of overseas activities and deteriorated relationships.
The world’s two largest economies are at odds over a variety of topics, including trade and technological conflicts, as well as Beijing’s claim to Taiwan, a democratic, self-ruled island that it considers to be part of China.
