Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang was removed from his ministerial post and top diplomat Wang Yi was reinstated to the portfolio at a parliament session Tuesday, the country's state media said, in an unusual move that may deal a blow to leader Xi Jinping.
Qin, who was seen as handpicked by Xi to become foreign minister last December, disappeared from public view in late June, fueling speculation about his downfall.
The Foreign Ministry had cited unspecified "health reasons" in explaining why Qin skipped recent international conferences, but the official Xinhua News Agency did not report on the reason for his removal, approved Tuesday at a Standing Committee session of the National People's Congress.
After being selected as a member of the ruling Communist Party's 20th Central Committee last October, Qin, 57, succeeded Wang, 69, who had served as foreign minister since 2013. In March this year, the former ambassador to the United States was promoted to state councilor.
It remains unknown whether Qin was stripped of his state councilor status.
Qin's last public appearance was on June 25, when he held talks with the foreign ministers of Sri Lanka and Vietnam as well as a Russian deputy foreign minister.
After a Hong Kong newspaper reported Qin had contracted COVID-19, Taiwanese media said he had been questioned about an extramarital affair with a Chinese journalist by the Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
The Foreign Ministry had not provided detailed explanations about Qin's long absence. At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, spokeswoman Mao Ning repeatedly said she had "no information to offer" and maintained that China's diplomatic activities are "moving steadily forward" even in the minister's absence.
The ministry also did not post answers to media questions regarding Qin on its website, apparently to keep the public from knowing his situation.
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