China removes 'absent' Qin Gang as foreign minister, Wang Yi back as FM 

China on Tuesday appointed Wang Yi as its new foreign minister, replacing Qin Gang who has been absent from public view since June 25, China's Global Times reported. Qin, 57, was elevated to the post of foreign minister in December last after a stint as envoy to the United States. He was not seen in public for nearly a month. His ministry recently said he was off work for unspecified health reasons.

Qin Gang had not made a public appearance in the last one month. His last reported engagements were on June 25, when he held talks with diplomats from Vietnam, Russia, and Sri Lanka, The New York Times reported last Monday. He was scheduled to meet the foreign policy chief of the European Union in Beijing, but China canceled that visit. He also missed a meeting of Southeast Asian countries in Jakarta, Indonesia, to which China was invited, NYT reported.

Qin's long absence triggered speculation on social media about his health and status. NYT also reported that overseas Chinese commentators have offered theories that an affair with a television personality might be behind Qin's problems, and the speculation has become big news in Taiwan. When asked about the rumors, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: "I have no understanding of the matter that you've raised."

Qin was the counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the UK from 2002 to 2005, after which he returned to China to work as the ministry's spokesperson from 2005 to 2010. He was promoted to the director-general of the information department of the ministry in 2011 after he finished his tenure as a minister of the Chinese Embassy in the UK from 2010 to 2011.

Qin was promoted to the vice minister of the foreign ministry in 2018 and three years later became the Chinese Ambassador to the US. Qin was appointed as the Chinese Foreign Minister, according to a decision made by the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, on December 30, 2022.