China replaced Foreign Minister (FM) Qin Gang with his predecessor Wang Yi after only 207 days in office.
Replacement
Qin, who has not been spotted in public for more than a month now, was removed from the post on Tuesday, with the country erasing all mentions of him from the government website.
“China’s top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister ... as it convened a session on Tuesday. Qin Gang was removed from the post of foreign minister,” state-run media house Xinhua reported.
The news agency did not mention why the diplomat was removed but said President Xi Jinping enacted the decision by signing a presidential order.
The National People's Congress convened an unexpected meeting, deviating from its usual practice of providing a seven-day notice. Additionally, Tuesday's event, which typically spans three to four days, was unusually shortened to just one day.
Analysts believe the unusual emergency meeting was convened to discuss Qin’s fate.
China’s Foreign Ministry website has completely scrubbed all past statements and engagements mentioning Qin Gang - which would be very peculiar if this was a health matter. Past statements and engagements of Wang Yi are displayed (right). pic.twitter.com/SbelMwNuSp
— Ananth Krishnan (@ananthkrishnan) July 26, 2023
Reason for Qin's removal
Commenting on the speculation earlier on Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told journalists she had “no information” and simply said, “China’s diplomatic activities are steadily moving forward.”
Qin, previously China’s ambassador to the US, was often considered a confidant of Xi, whose quick rise through diplomatic ranks was attributed to their close relationship.
Commenting on this relationship, China analyst Bill Bishop wrote in his Sinocism newsletter that “If [Qin] were a comrade in good standing who had fallen ill I am not sure that would be happening.”
“Evidence is emerging suggesting this is indeed a political purge,” Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a US think tank, stated on Twitter.
“I think the main implication would be for Chinese officialdom, with the message being that no one is safe, however high they may have risen or however strongly they have been supported by Xi Jinping,” China law expert Neysun Mahboubi told AFP.