July 25,2023: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.
The 57-year-old, who was made foreign minister in December, has not since been seen in public 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.
