Qin Gang: Powerful Chinese Foreign Minister fired; Move sparks more rumours I Oneindia News

According to Chinese media, the Chinese government has removed Qin Gang from the post of foreign minister and has replaced him with Wang Yi.

This has ended weeks of speculations and rumours that had started after Qin Gang was incommunicado lately.

The announcement came just a month after Qin’s last public appearance.

Earlier, the foreign ministry had said that the 57-year-old was off work for unspecified health reasons, but the lack of detailed information on his whereabouts had fuelled a swirl of speculation.

Qin Gang, was not seen in public for over three weeks, despite a flurry of high-profile diplomatic efforts to repair ties with the United States.

As a former ambassador to Washington DC, who is considered a protege of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Qin was expected to play a key role in a string of high-level visits by US officials.

But his last public appearance was a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart in Beijing on 25 June.

He did not join Chinese officials at talks with the Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, in early July, or as part of the ongoing visit by climate envoy John Kelly.

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His absence came on the heels of a rapid rise in elite Chinese politics that saw him serve for less than two years as US ambassador, before being elevated to the post of foreign minister in December.

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