Global Courant
BEIJING — China on Tuesday ousted its sometimes outspoken foreign minister and replaced him with his predecessor in an unusually scheduled meeting, a move that has fueled rumors about the personal lives and political rivalries of the Chinese Communist Party’s elite.
The move to remove Qin Gang and replace him with Wang Yi does not appear to mark a significant change in the tough foreign policy pursued in recent years by leader Xi Jinping, who oversees the world’s second-largest economy — and a nation that is America’s main rival for international influence. US officials said the same about Qin’s departure after learning of the move.
State broadcaster CCTV gave no reason for Qin’s removal in its announcement on the national evening news. Within minutes, all mentions and photos of him were removed from the State Department website. However, the central government’s main site still referred to him as a cabinet-level councilor of state, a possible sign that his political career was not quite over.
He had disappeared from public view almost a month ago and the State Department has not provided any information on his status. That is in line with the ruling Communist Party’s standard approach to human resources within a highly opaque political system in which the media and freedom of expression are severely restricted. The side rarely reveals its process or its way of thinking when making such a move.
The ministry did not comment during the daily briefing on Tuesday.
The move comes amid a foreign reaction to China’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy, of which Qin has been one of the leading proponents. That now includes Chinese political and economic support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, the signing of a secret security pact with the Solomon Islands that could give the country a military foothold in the South Pacific, and the rejection of demands for more information about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in China in late 2019.
Adding to the mystery surrounding Qin’s removal, it was approved at an unusually scheduled meeting of the Standing Committee of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, which normally meets at the end of the month. That led to speculation about what might be going on behind the scenes — and whether it was directly related to Qin, policies in general, or both.
WHO IS QIN GANG?
Qin, who comes from a powerful family of party leaders, last appeared on camera during a meeting with Sri Lanka’s foreign minister in Beijing on June 25. The State Department briefly attributed his absence to ill health at one point, but – in another tactic sometimes used by the party and government – removed the reference from the official transcript of the press conference and has since said only that it had no information to report.
Wang, Qin’s predecessor and now deputy, had previously served as China’s top diplomat in his capacity as head of the party’s foreign affairs bureau. With no other strong contenders, it seemed likely that he would hold that position at least for the foreseeable future.
The shake-up in China’s diplomatic lineup doesn’t necessarily signal a change in foreign policy, including continued support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, it follows US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s journey to Beijing – as well as travels by other senior and retired officials – in an effort to rekindle a relationship deeply torn by trade, human rights, technology, Taiwan and China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Earlier in his career, Qin was a spokesman for the ministry. During that time he gained a reputation for his criticism of the West and for dismissing all accusations against China. That became known as “wolf warrior” diplomacy, after the name of a nationalist film franchise.
He later headed the protocol department of the ministry, where he reportedly came to the attention of Xi, the head of state and leader of the Communist Party. Qin was then appointed ambassador to Washington from July 2021 to January this year, a relatively short term that envisioned him becoming the head of China’s diplomatic service.
HOW THIS MAY AFFECT US-CHINA RELATIONS
The US has launched a flurry of diplomacy with China in recent weeks in hopes of reviving relations that have sunk to an all-time low. In Washington, two US officials said on Tuesday they do not believe Qin’s impeachment will have a significant impact.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal thinking of the Biden administration, said the move would not affect the US’s desire or intention to promote high-level dialogue with the Chinese.
That has recently been reflected in visits to Beijing by Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry. Blinken was the last US official to meet Qin in his role as secretary of state, but all three officials met with Wang, a relatively well-known Washington figure.
Kerry met with officials last week, including Prime Minister Li Qiang, following visits from Blinken and Finance Minister Janet Yellen. Centenarian former top diplomat Henry Kissinger, revered in China for helping to break the ice in relations in the early 1970s, also traveled and chatted with Xi.
“We’re working to bring some stability to the relationship,” Blinken said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.
China has an opaque political system backed by strict controls on the media and civil society, making it difficult to gauge how Chinese leaders see the relationship at the moment.
The most authoritarian and nationalist party leader in decades, Xi has spoken out harshly about claims to sovereignty over the South China Sea and threats to attack Taiwan’s self-governing island democracy. He rejects foreign criticism of China’s actions against political and cultural expressions against Muslim and Buddhist minorities and in the former British colony of Hong Kong.
QIN’S RETORY WAS UNLIMITED AT SOMETIMES
During his time as spokesman and minister, Qin defended those positions in sometimes strident terms, saying in March, “If the United States does not apply the brakes, but continues to go down the wrong path, no guardrail can prevent derailment and there will certainly be conflicts and confrontations.”
“Such competition is a reckless gamble, putting the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity at stake,” Qin said.
However, an opportunity remains open, especially if Xi makes a state visit to the US later this year, when he is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum Summit in San Francisco, said Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing.
“If the opportunity is taken to get China-US relations back on track, relations may not get out of hand next year,” Wang said.
Conflict has sometimes overshadowed the huge economic and trade relationship, but the parties can still work together on relatively politically neutral issues such as climate change, Wang said.
Both countries are looking for a way to “manage the most important and most complicated bilateral relations in the world,” said Zhu Feng, dean of the School of International Studies at the prestigious Nanjing University in East China.
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AP Diplomatic writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
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