China: foreign minister changes. The late Qin Hang is replaced by Wang Ying
China has finally replaced its foreign minister Qin Gang with his predecessor Wang Yi in an unprecedented move that leaves more questions than answers to one of the most gripping political dramas in years.
Citing a decision by the nation's top legislative body, state media simply said on Tuesday that Qin, who disappeared from public view in June, had been removed from his post. No other explanations and no mention of his responsibilities.
Qin, promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping just seven months ago, is also a state councilor and Central Committee member of the ruling Communist Party. While he is now very likely to lose these positions as well, Tuesday's terse statement made no mention of it, leaving everyone dry-wrapped.
Equally puzzling was his replacement. Instead of promoting another candidate, the leadership handed the position to Wang, who was promoted to the powerful Politburo a few months ago and outranked Qin.
This makes Wang one of the most powerful foreign ministers in decades and the first Politburo member since Qian Qichen to hold the position, which is mainly responsible for policy implementation. Qian served as Chinese foreign minister and a member of the Politburo between 1992 and 1998.
It is a stark departure from party protocol and precedent, reflecting the urgency for the top leadership to stabilize the situation, which has become a huge embarrassment to China's foreign affairs and a political crisis for Xi in his unprecedented third term.
Where is Qin Gang now? Does all this have to do with the alleged mistress Fu Xiotian ? Or is he really sick? Nothing has been clarified and this does not facilitate reactions between the parties.
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The article China: foreign minister changes. The late Qin Hang is replaced by Wang Ying comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/cina-cambia-il-ministro-degli-esteri-lo-scomparso-qin-hang-viene-sostituito-da-wang-ying/ on Tue, 25 Jul 2023 19:04:07 +0000.