Since Qin Gang, China‘s foreign minister, hasn’t been seen in nearly a month, there have been numerous inquiries regarding his whereabouts.
Qin, who was regarded as President Xi Jinping‘s confidante, worked at the Chinese embassy in London for several years before being appointed foreign minister in December 2022.
Qin Gang
He became known as a “Wolf Warrior” and reacted negatively to Western criticism of Beijing. There have been questions about Qin’s appearances in Washington and his hectic calendar, which includes trips to Africa, Europe, and Central Asia.
The absence of Qin was attributed to health issues by China’s foreign ministry, but this hasn’t stopped online rumors.
- Qin, former Xi Jinping confidante, was appointed foreign minister in December 2022.
- Qin’s absence due to health issues persists.
- Beijing claims normal diplomacy, but the lack of a visible leader raises questions.
The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell’s trip to Beijing was canceled, and UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s trip was postponed due to the absence at the top of China’s foreign ministry.
Wang Yi, a senior foreign policy official, has assumed some of his duties in the interim and traveled to Africa to take part in a BRICS summit on security issues in Johannesburg.
Beijing has maintained that Chinese diplomacy is operating normally, but as the foreign ministry approaches a month without a visible leader, questions will begin to arise on how much of this is true.
