Proximity to Xi Jinping propelled Qin Gang to the top of China’s foreign ministry at stunning speed. On Tuesday he fell, losing his job as foreign minister after vanishing from the public eye for 30 days
Xi Jinping—backed by a well-judged blend of worldly charm and anti-Western scorn—propelled Qin Gang to the top of China’s foreign ministry at stunning speed. On July 25th Mr Qin fell, losing his job as foreign minister after vanishing from the public eye for 30 days.
Mr Qin, 57, rose through the ranks at exceptional speed after a stint as a close aide to Mr Xi, China’s supreme leader. His disappearance was a crisis for the machinery of state because Mr Qin is so widely seen as a protégé of the party boss. China’s rubber-stamp legislature issued a terse bulletin that Mr Qin has been replaced by his own predecessor, Wang Yi, who served as foreign minister from 2013 until 2022. Mr Wang appears to have retained his other, more senior post, as the Communist Party’s top diplomat. At the age of 69, Mr Wang, a member of the ruling Politburo, may not be expected to hold that gruelling double-mandate for very long.
There was understanding about the party’s penchant for secrecy regarding the health of senior officials, notably in a system where leaders are expected to show physical vigour. Ambassadors will miss Mr Qin. Though he was capable of real menace, issuing veiled threats to governments that had angered China in some way, he could also be unusually candid and pragmatic.
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